Awkward Pause

Photo by Catherine Roque

The theme for our February story slam was Awkward Pause. We heard stories about pressing pause on life and various relationships, trash-talking someone while sitting within earshot, and even one about someone throwing their weight around in order to board a plane. Our winner was Tony Crocamo, who told a story about realizing he’d said the wrong thing.

Tony won an exclusive York Story Slam-branded journal from our friends at Story Supply Co and earned a spot in our Grand Slam in November. Tony (left) is pictured here with this month’s emcee and 2023 Grand Slam champ, Matt McDunnell.

Click here to view videos of all this month’s stories.

Tickets are on sale now for our March 19 story slam. The theme is Safety First.

Our events have been selling out in advance every month, so get your tickets now if you want to attend!

2024 Series Begins January 16

Photo by Catherine Roque

We had a great evening at our Grand Slam in November, and now we're excited to kick off our ninth season of live storytelling.

We've gotten the green light from Archetype Pizza to take over their space on the third Tuesday of the month in 2024 and we announced our themes for the year back in November.

Our first Story Slam of the year is scheduled for Tuesday, January 16. The theme is LOST ART, and our emcee for the evening will be our 2023 Grand Slam champ Matt McDunnell. We want to hear your stories of that weird hobby, that thing you used to be good at, skills we’re missing in the modern era, and the things you made with your hands and no longer have for one reason or another. However you interpret this month's theme, we look forward to hearing your true stories. Those who wish to share a story will sign up upon arrival that evening.

Tickets on sale January 8 at 10 am.

As always, food and beverages are available for purchase during our events from Archetype Pizza.

Truth Be Told

Photo by Catherine Roque

Congratulations to Matt McDunnell, who won our 2023 Grand Slam. Matt competed with the other winners from this year's monthly open mic story slams and earned the title of Best Storyteller in York. The theme for the evening was Truth Be Told.

Thank you to the Appell Center for the Performing Arts, who have hosted all eight of our annual Grand Slams in the beautiful Capitol Theatre.

Thank you to 2016 Grand Slam champ Brad Jennings, who emceed this year’s event.

Thank you to everyone who showed up this year to listen, and everyone who bravely put their names into the hat to share stories.

2023 has been our eighth season of live storytelling events. Since 2016, we’ve welcomed more than 5,850 attendees and have had more than 850 names in the hat. That’s 850 true, personal stories shared with neighbors – friends, acquaintances, and strangers – in the safe space York Story Slam provides. Storytelling is a wonderful way to get to know others in your community; to uncover things we have in common and to recognize and better understand our differences. We are honored to provide a platform for people to share true, personal stories.

We won’t have a story slam event in December – we will be putting the finishing touches on next year’s series. We’ll continue to host our monthly events on the third Tuesday of the month in 2024, and we’ll return to Archetype Pizza for another season.

In the meantime, click here to hear the stories from the Grand Slam.

Eighth Annual Grand Slam!

Photo by Isaac Edmondson Photography

It’s time for our Grand Slam!

The Grand Slam is our annual culminating event where all the winners from the season are invited back to compete for the title of Best Storyteller in York, a big ol’ trophy, and bragging rights for an entire year. This year’s Grand Slam will be held on November 21, and we’ll be at the beautiful Capitol Theatre once again, thanks to generous, continuing support from the Appell Center for Performing Arts.

At the end of our October event, we announced the theme for this year’s Grand Slam: TRUTH BE TOLD. Our MC for the evening will be 2016 Grand Slam champion Brad Jennings.

Tickets are on sale now. They’re limited, so get yours while the gettin’s good.

In the meantime, you can look back on all the winning stories from this year with this handy playlist:

Our Grand Slam is presented with generous support from the Appell Center for Performing Arts.

We Had an Excellent Potluck Night!

Photo by Catherine Roque

We had an open theme for our October story slam. We heard stories about fishing, returning home, meeting a movie star in Moscow, pulling one over on Mexican gang members, and even one about a tantric yoga retreat. Our winner was Marianne Sheely, who told a story about taking a chance on the hot guy she met at the Y.

Marianne won an exclusive York Story Slam-branded journal from our friends at Story Supply Co and earned the final spot in our Grand Slam in November. Marianne is pictured here with this month’s emcee, Corey Wolfe.

Click here for videos of all this month’s stories.

Tickets are on sale now for our 2023 Grand Slam, when all the winners of each of our monthly open mic story slams return to compete for the title of York's Best Storyteller. The Grand Slam will be held on November 21 at the beautiful Capitol Theatre. We announced the theme at the end of the October event: Truth Be Told.

Get Outside

Join us at Columbia Crossing, in the pavilion overlooking the Susquehanna, for an evening of true stories about the great outdoors. We'll have featured storytellers and a few spots reserved for attendees to enter their name for a chance to tell a story.

This joint event is presented by Lancaster Story Slam and York Story Slam in partnership with Susquehanna National Heritage Area and Lancaster Conservancy. Proceeds will benefit all four partner organizations.

Click here to watch all the stories from that evening.

No Theme, No Problem

Photo by Catherine Roque

The theme for our October 17 story slam is “Potluck,” which means there is no theme. So if you’ve had a story in mind you want to tell, but couldn’t figure out how to make it fit one of the themes this year, now’s your chance! This is the last open mic event of the season, so it’s the last chance to earn a spot in our 2023 Grand Slam. And speaking of the Grand Slam, we’ll announce this year’s theme at the end of the October event.

Tickets are on sale now.

As always, food and beverages are available for purchase during our events from Archetype Pizza.

Homecoming

Photo by Catherine Roque

The theme for our September story slam was Coming Home. We heard stories about moving, about finding a sense of home, a couple about dogs, and even one about walking in on housemates at inopportune times. Our winner was Corey Wolfe, who told a story about how long it took him to move to an apartment across the street.

Corey won an exclusive York Story Slam-branded journal from our friends at Story Supply Co and earned a spot in our Grand Slam in November. Corey (right) is pictured here with this month’s emcee, Amos Stoltzfus.

Click here for videos of all this month’s stories.

Tickets are on sale now for our October 17 story slam. The theme is “Potluck,” which means there is no theme. So if you’ve had a story in mind you want to tell, but couldn’t figure out how to make it fit one of the themes this year, now’s your chance! This is the last open mic event of the season, so it’s the last chance to earn a spot in our 2023 Grand Slam. And speaking of the Grand Slam, we’ll announce this year’s theme at the end of the October event.

Our events have been selling out in advance every month, so we recommend getting your tickets now!

Coming Home

Photo by Catherine Roque

The theme for our September 19 story slam is Coming Home, and Amos Stoltzfus will be our MC for the evening.

We want to hear your stories about summers home from college, making your own home, and the family you find along the way. However you interpret the theme, we look forward to hearing your true stories. Those who wish to share a story will sign up upon arrival that evening.

Tickets are on sale now.

As always, food and beverages are available for purchase during our events from Archetype Pizza.

Red Flags Everywhere

Photo by Catherine Roque

The theme for our August story slam was Warning Signs. We heard stories about scary situations, energy vortices, a highly-anticipated celebrity encounter, and of course stories about warning signs that were summarily ignored. Our winner was Beth McLaughlin, who told a story about the times everything was fine until she showed up.

Beth won an exclusive York Story Slam-branded journal from our friends at Story Supply Co and earned a spot in our Grand Slam in November. Beth is pictured here with this month’s emcee, Jeremy Slagle.

Click here to view videos of this month’s stories.

Tickets are on sale now for our September 19 story slam. The theme is Coming Home. Our events have been selling out in advance every month, so we recommend getting your tickets now!

Warning Signs

Photo by Catherine Roque

The theme for our August 15 story slam is Warning Signs.

We want to hear your stories about red flags, green lights, trusting your gut, and all the advice you turned down. However you interpret the theme, we look forward to hearing your true stories. Those who wish to share a story will sign up upon arrival that evening.

Tickets are on sale now.

As always, food and beverages are available for purchase during our events from Archetype Pizza.

...But She Don't Care

Photo by Catherine Roque

The theme for our July story slam was Ticket to Ride. We heard stories about riding in the car, riding bikes, delayed and missed flights, and stories about surgery and terminal illness. Our winner was Kat Knapp, who told a story about spending the first summer of her 20s at Cedar Point amusement park.

Kat won an exclusive York Story Slam-branded journal from our friends at Story Supply Co and earned a spot in our Grand Slam in November. Kat (left) is pictured here with York Story Slam producer and this month’s emcee, JJ Sheffer.

Click here to view videos of this month’s stories.

Tickets are on sale now for our August 15 story slam. The theme is Warning Signs. Our events have been selling out in advance every month, so we recommend getting your tickets now!

Ticket to Ride

Photo by Catherine Roque

The theme for our July 18 story slam is Ticket to Ride.

We want to hear your stories about amusements, concerts, speeding, or planes, trains, and automobiles - where have tickets led you? However you interpret the theme, we look forward to hearing your true stories. Those who wish to share a story will sign up upon arrival that evening.

Tickets are on sale now.

As always, food and beverages are available for purchase during our events from Archetype Pizza.

Happened So Fast...

Photo by Catherine Roque

The theme for our June story slam was Summer Love. We heard stories about infatuation, finding love, and summer camp flings. Our winner was Mina Edmondson, who told a story about returning to the woods where she played with her siblings as a child.

Mina won an exclusive York Story Slam-branded journal from our friends at Story Supply Co and earned a spot in our Grand Slam in November. Mina (right) is pictured here with York Story Slam producer and this month’s emcee, JJ Sheffer.

Click here to view videos of this month’s stories.

Tickets are on sale now for our July 18 story slam. The theme is Ticket to Ride. Our events have been selling out in advance every month, so we recommend getting your tickets now!

Summer Love

Photo by Catherine Roque

The theme for our June 20 story slam is Summer Love.

We want to hear your stories about broken hearts, long hot nights, and that summer camp boy/girlfriend you still think about. However you interpret the theme, we look forward to hearing your true stories. Those who wish to share a story will sign up upon arrival that evening.

Tickets are on sale now.

As always, food and beverages are available for purchase during our events from Archetype Pizza.

Because Mom Said So

Photo by Catherine Roque

The theme for our May story slam was Listen to Your Mother. We heard stories about moms who say a lot, moms who don’t say much, rules laid out by mothers, and two stories involving Ouija boards.

We had two winners; Scott Blanchard and Doc Yoder each won an exclusive York Story Slam-branded journal from our friends at Story Supply Co and earned spots in our Grand Slam in November. Scott (left) and Doc (right) are pictured here with this month’s host David Smith.

Click here to watch videos of all this month’s stories.

Tickets are on sale now for our June 20 story slam. The theme is Summer Love. Our events often sell out in advance, so we recommend getting your tickets now!

Listen to Your Mother

Photo by Catherine Roque

The theme for our May 16 story slam is Listen to Your Mother.

We want to hear your stories about taking your mother's advice, not taking it, or learning things the hard way. Those who wish to share a story will sign up upon arrival that evening.

Tickets are on sale now.

As always, food and beverages are available for purchase during our events from Archetype Pizza.

Doing Whatever Is Asked

Photo by Catherine Roque

The theme for our April story slam was Other Duties As Assigned. We heard stories about adventures in public service, lessons learned from customers, and unexpected job tasks for which our storytellers were not prepared.

We had two winners; Sarah Chain and Nick Dowling each won an exclusive York Story Slam-branded journal from our friends at Story Supply Co and earned spots in our Grand Slam in November. Nick (left) and Sarah (right) are pictured here with this month’s host and 2017 Grand Slam champion Eileen Joyce.

Click here to watch videos of all this month’s stories.

Tickets are on sale now for our May 16 story slam. The theme is Listen to Your Mother. Our events often sell out in advance, so we recommend getting your tickets now!

Other Duties As Assigned

Photo by Catherine Roque

The theme for our April 18 story slam is Other Duties As Assigned. Our 2017 Grand Slam champ Eileen Joyce will be visiting from Seattle, and will be our MC for the evening.

We want to hear your stories about being asked to go above and beyond, quiet quitting, and biting off more than you can chew. However you interpret this month's theme, we look forward to hearing your true stories. Those who wish to share a story will sign up upon arrival that evening.

Tickets are on sale now.

As always, food and beverages are available for purchase during our events from Archetype Pizza.