Cindy Campbell-Stone

Cindy Campbell-Stone

So began a storytelling journey….

As a child, Cindy would sit quietly and listen to the adults talk. She was quiet because she didn’t want to be sent to bed without hearing the stories. The adults would talk about their day, and sometimes the stories were exciting like when an aunt brought a dangerous, charging bull to its knees by hitting it between the horns with a baseball bat. Or when a fishing boat struggled to reach shore in a storm, or someone’s house was struck by lightning.

As an adult looking back, those times make her feel connected to her community and her family.

Familiar connections…that’s the power of storytelling.

When Cindy was nine years old, she was dared by her cousin to read ‘Ripleys Believe It or Not’ outside in the dark under the yellow porch light. She took the dare and regretted it as she was so terrified she couldn’t sleep that night.

Later in life, she now loves a good scare and tells many ghost stories that made people laugh nervously or squirm or scream. Conversely, she can tell a tale to make you laugh and feel joy, or well-up with happy tears.

Emotional connection…that’s the power of storytelling.

And the storytelling journey continues…

Cindy is storyteller, singer, writer and presenter from Nova Scotia with family roots in Prince Edward Island. A long time member of the storytelling community, Cindy offers workshops on storytelling in general, community or historical stories, oral history and folklore, folksongs and ballads. Cindy’s sense of fun and encouragement in her workshops and performances, aim to provide delightful learning and listening experiences to audiences of all ages.

As a member of the Helen Creighton Folklore Society, she has a special interest in the works of folklorist, Dr Creighton. Cindy often likes to include songs or ballads in her storytelling performances and has been known to add musical surprises within her stories.

She has presented and hosted at many events, concerts, festivals and conferences.  For ten years, she co-hosted an open mic event, twice a month, for the Helen Creighton Folklore Society, called ‘WTF: What the Folk!’ She has hosted or chaired online events including the World Storytelling Day Concert for the Storytellers Circle of Halifax and an ‘Online Listening Party’ for Storytellers of Canada - Conteurs du Canada. Cindy has coached others in hosting for Word On The Street, Halifax.

Cindy has been a life-long reader and especially likes to read aloud. She started reading out loud many years ago at Saint Marys University’s program, ‘Reading for the Blind’. She developed her skills by reading to children and parents while working at Halifax Public Libraries for over thirty years. Cindy has presented readings at the Dartmouth Book Exchange, the Writer’s Federation of Nova Scotia and has performed online readings of Bluenose Ghosts by Helen Creighton.

Her interests include volunteering for six non-profit organizations, reading, writing, singing, and gardening. She is currently writing a one woman play; an historical novel set in Halifax; and collecting her family stories. Cindy lives with her author husband in Cole Harbour, N.S. along with four cockatiel birds.

www.cindystoryteller.com