A few years ago I was asked to be part of a White House meeting about children and television. Many broadcasters from all over the country were there. During my speech, I asked the audience to spend one minute thinking of someone who’d made a difference in the person they’d become. As I was leaving that enormous room, I heard something from one of the military guards who was all dressed up in white and gold, looking like a statue. I heard him whisper, “Thanks, Mister Rogers.”

So I went over to him and noticed his eyes were moist, and he said, “Well, sir, as I listened to you today, I started to remember my grandfather’s brother. I haven’t thought about him in years. I was only seven when he died, but just before that, he gave me his favorite fishing rod. I’ve just been thinking, maybe that’s why I like fishing so much and why I like to show the kids in my neighborhood all about it.”

Well, as far as I’m concerned, the major reason for my going to Washington that day was that military guard and nourishing the memory of his great-uncle. What marvelous mysteries we’re privileged to be part of! Why would that young man be assigned to guard that particular room on that particular day? Slender threads like that weave this complex fabric of our life together.

The World According to Mister Rogers, pg. 150-151

Fred (Mister) Rogers (1928-2003)

Purchase The World According to Mister Rogers for your own library at Amazon.com.

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This is a copy of the 2012 Audition Poster. Come audition for this year’s production: June 28, 2012 from 5 to 9 pm!

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A little history: Stories in Concert first began in Lehi, Utah in 2004, with the help of The Lehi Arts Council and President Jean Hatch. We debuted at Lehi’s Olympic Park, just southeast of the Jordan River, before moving to Wines Park, in the middle of the city, in 2005. In 2007, we changed venues to the wonderfully wooded and nicely secluded American Fork Amphitheater across from the beautiful Mt. Timpanogos Temple, under the umbrella of the American Fork Arts Council (Lori Edlund, President). Now, in 2012, we plan to perform our legendary Sleepy Hollow in the Logan/Cache Valley area.

UPDATE: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in Concert will be performed at the Cache County Fairgrounds in Logan, Utah October 19-29, 2012. Buy tickets now!

Of course, we still have the same mission: connecting families to great literature through an extraordinary storytelling experience. In the words of one guest, “Stories in Concert … brings families together through an entertaining experience, a festival, lots of fun things—and they’re secretly learning.” Best of all, it actually works. As one mother said, “We came from the show and looked up the story and we read the story.”

We hope your family is inspired, too. See you at the show!

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Our kids, like yours, continue to grow up fast and, while we worry that it’s all happening a bit too quickly, we also love watching our children participate in the Stories in Concert mission. That’s why, starting this year, you’ll hear more from two of the younger members of the Stories in Concert team (who just happen to be members of our family as well): Morynn now manages our social media efforts (all that texting is FINALLY paying off) and Kaleigh employs her writing talent with regular contributions to the Stories in Concert blog.

The multidimensional application of our mission isn’t lost on us:
the chance to bring your family closer together through extraordinary storytelling brings our family closer together too — and we couldn’t be more grateful.

See you at the show!

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