Storytellers of Las Cruces

06/03/2026

The Storytellers of Las Cruces invite you to Storytime on Saturday June 6th at 10:30 am at Coas Bookstore (217 N Main St). Storyteller Mark Hammersmith will be delighting children of all ages will several tales featuring Raven, a character who appears in many stories from around the world. All children who attend will receive a $3.00 book coupon. We hope to see you there!

05/14/2026

Storytellers & Friends,
We hope that you can join us for our last meeting before we break for the summer months, June through August. We will come together for an afternoon of conviviality & shared stories on Monday, May 18th at 3:30 pm in Jones Hall at the First Presbyterian Church (200 E ).
There will be a short meet & greet at 3:30 pm & refreshments will be served. At 4:00 we will gather together for our "Story Swap Time". There will be an opportunity for attendees to share a short (3 minute) story, poem, anecdote, or other creative offering.
Our featured storytellers will then be taking center stage to the delight of all!
We hope to see you there!

05/01/2026

The Storytellers of Las Cruces present Storytime on the 1st Saturday of every month at Coas Bookstore (317 N Main). On May 2nd our featured teller will be Nancy Banks. She will share tales that will be sure to engage listeners of all ages. All children who attend will receive a $3.00 book coupon. We hope to see you there!

04/15/2026

Storytellers & Friends,

We hope that you can join us for our monthly meeting, to be held on Monday, April 20th, at 6:00 pm (mt) via zoom. We welcome newcomers to storytelling, veteran tellers, as well as appreciative listeners from near or far. Stories bring communities together, foster friendships & serve to widen our horizons, sharing the culture & traditions of other cultures as reflected in their stories. We often find a common thread woven throughout these tales.
We will open the meeting with a chance to greet one another, awaiting until all have arrived. Following this we open the meeting to our story swap time. Attendees are invited to share a short ( 3 minute) story, anecdote, poem, or misc. creative offering.
The evening will proceed with presentations from our two featured tellers, Gloria Hacker & Judith Ames. There might be a surprise visit as well, from a guest Storyteller. That's the beautiful thing about live storytelling, there is always a bit of serendipity involved!
Below you will find the zoom link to click on as well as the #'s & passcodes for those who will be joining us by phone.
We look forward to a delightful storyful evening!
Topic: Storytellers of Las Cruces
Date: Monday, April 20, 2026
Time: 6:00 pm
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86024463662?pwd=MkzDY6C1wB0A7tPshf90HeJy6VQdaF.1

Meeting ID: 860 2446 3662
Passcode: 2026
One tap mobile
+16694449171,,86024463662 #,,,,*2026 # US
+16699006833,,86024463662 #,,,,*2026 # US (San Jose)

04/02/2026

Join Us for Storytime at Coas Bookstore (317 N Main) on Saturday, April 4th at 10:30 am for stories featuring butterflies. Gloria Hacker will be presenting tales from a variety of traditions, "The Beautiful Butterfly" a story told in Spain & throughout Latin America, a butterfly origin story from the Tohono O'odham (Papago) people & a trickster tale told by the Tewa people & sourced from a Joe Hayes collection. All children who attend will receive a $3.00 book coupon. We hope to see you there!

03/12/2026

The Storytellers of Las Cruces invite you to our monthly meeting on Monday, March 16th at 3:30 pm in Jones Hall at the First Presbyterian Church (200 E Boutz). Our featured tellers will be Nancy Banks & Sali Peterson. We will devote a portion of this meeting in memory of one of our members who passed away in January.
Sonya Weiner is sorely missed. She was not only our secretary extraordinaire, keeping minutes at every meeting but a skilled storyteller who shared an eclectic repertoire of tales. She was a retired elementary school teacher & was well versed in children's literature. Sonya & her husband Fred were both Square Dance enthusiasts. Fred, in fact had been a skilled Caller.
There will be an opportunity to meet & greet at 3:30 pm & refreshments will be served. We will officially open the meeting at 4:00 for our story swap segment & anyone during this time can share a short (3 minute) story, anecdote, poem, or misc creative offering. Following this will be our remembrance of Sonya & the presentations of our two featured tellers.
We hope that you can join us for an afternoon of stories & good company!

03/06/2026

The Storytellers of Las Cruces invite you to Storytime at Coas Bookstore (317 N Main) on Saturday, March 7th at 10:30 am.
Spring is about to unfold & the weather is fair. It's a perfect time to join with your family & take a stroll through our downtown Farmers Market enjoying the crafts, sharing some treats & then making your way to Coas Bookstore, in time to peruse the books in the children's room & listen to captivating tales as told by our featured storyteller Captain Jeff Porter. All children who attend will receive a $3.00 book coupon. We hope to see you there!

02/24/2026

Sarah Addison (Juba) , president of our organization & master Storyteller was featured in this month's "New Mexico Magazine".

Las Cruces storyteller Sarah Addison channels the lives of Black women, civil rights leaders, and unsung heroes through spoken word.

02/08/2026

In Memoriam
We are saddened by the loss of two of our beloved members, Douglas Jackson & Sonya Weiner, who passed away within a few weeks of each other. We will be honoring Douglas at our next meeting with an Omega Ceremony on February 16th at 3:30 pm in Jones Hall at the First Presbyterian Church (200 E Boutz). An Omega Ceremony for Sonya will take place in March when her family will be able to join us.

Many of you knew Douglas as the Storyteller who captivated Children & adults alike. One couldn't help but tap into one's inner child, becoming delightfully engaged in the tale he presented. Douglas would invite his listeners to actively take part in the story as it unfolded & everyone got to play a part.
Douglas was a revered special Ed teacher who specialized in working with deaf students. Upon retirement he became actively involved in sharing the art of storytelling with elementary school children.
Douglas was known as well for his whimsical drawings, for the unique holiday postcards which he designed & sent out each year, & for the menagerie of little ceramic animals that he created. He also made & donated ceramic bowls for the "Empty Bowls" benefit, raising funds for El Caldito Soup Kitchen.
Douglas sang for a number of years with the Voz Vaqueros singing men of Las Cruces & took part as well with the Walter Hawkins Balloon Crew.

Sonya Weiner was our group's Secretary Extraordinaire. She took minutes at all our meetings & helped create our yearly calendar book. A former teacher from New York, she loved books & was well-versed in children literature. She was a featured teller at our meetings & also shared stories with children at Coas Bookstore on Saturday mornings.
Sonya was also an enthusiastic Square Dancer, her husband Fred, a Caller, both took part in a local square dance group. We will be honoring her at our March meeting on March 16th.

We hope that you can join us for our upcoming meeting on February 16th & take part in our remembrance ceremony for Douglas Jackson. We will have several storytellers join us from the "Storytellers of New Mexico" group, of which Douglas was also a member. There will be stories shared as well. Refreshments will be served.
Meeting February 16th, 3:30 pm in Jones Hall at the First Presbyterian Church (200 E Boutz).

02/04/2026

The Storytellers of Las Cruces welcome you to Storytime at Coas Bookstore (317 N Main) on the first Saturday of every month at 10:30 am. On February 7th our featured teller will be Mark Hammersmith. Mark is a "Sean Chai"(pronounced Shan-a-kee) a Scottish word with Celtic roots, for Storyteller.
Mark will introduce you to his special Raven mascot & share stories in which this trickster character plays a major role. These tales will appeal to children of all ages. All children who attend will receive a $3.00 book coupon. We hope to see you there!