Missoula, MT – June 25, 2022
Hey, I’m Sarah, one of StoryCorps’ Bilingual Mobile Tour Facilitators!
We “mobes” travel to 10 cities a year recording stories across the U.S. So far, I’ve been to Columbus, GA; Tallahassee, Tampa, and Pensacola, FL; Tulsa, OK; Springfield, MO; and Missoula, MT. Next stop: Moses Lake, WA!
Right now, I’m traveling with our Site Manager, Teriyana Morton and our other Bilingual Mobile Tour Facilitator, Naomi Love. Here we are together in Missoula:
While there are only three of us on the road at once, four of us travel with the Mobile Tour. My friend/colleague/roommate, Sonia, will join us on July 6. Right now, she is working in the office. We “facils” each take turns working month-long office stints after every three-ish months on the road. This gives us a chance to rest up a bit since the excitement of road life also requires a lot of energy!
Travel day – June 26, 2022
It’s always magical to watch the landscape change as we drive to new cities. It lends a real sense of place to the stories we hear.
These snow-capped mountains hugging wildflower-filled valleys told us stories of environmental justice, LGBTQ+ pride, coming-of-age misadventures, wildfires, reunions with long-lost relatives, and interactions with bears.
I don’t know what these dusty-orange cliffs circling blue-green lakes will teach us just yet, but I’m excited to find out!
Moses lake, wa – June 27, 2022
We have arrived safe and sound and are settling in!
One of the first things we do at each stop is set up the recording space. We squeeze all we need into this suitcase and backpack:
This month, we’ll be recording in the Moses Lake Civic Center Auditorium in partnership with the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center. We try to make the space as cozy as possible, while leaving room for social distancing. Here, this meant setting up a big black curtain beside our table so that participants don’t need to feel like they’re on stage while sharing their life stories.
Of course, after making the recording space comfortable, we have to find comfort food for ourselves too. We found a fabulous taco stand that we will certainly be coming back to again soon!
Moses lake, wa – June 30, 2022
Happy opening day!
After a few lovely recordings, we celebrated with a community event sponsored by the Washington State Department of Commerce. There, we were lucky enough to meet some hosts from Northwest Public Broadcasting, our public radio partner for our Moses Lake stop. The free shaved ice, live music, lawn games, and friendly faces from the community all made it a blast!
Stay tuned for more updates on our Moses Lake stop and feel free to let us know what you want to hear more about from us here!
Click here to read the second installment of the Mobile Tour series.
Click here to read the third installment of the Mobile Tour series.