​​The Backyard Story Series

The Backyard Story Series at the Historic Leopold House is a night to share and listen to true stories from your neighbors, friends, strangers, professional writers, amateur writers, and people like you.​

Sign up to be a storyteller

​About the Backyard Story Series
​

Picking up from a Nob Hill-based Backyard Story Night that took place from 2015 - 2019, the Leopold House Backyard Story Series invites anyone interested in a connection between humans and Nature to share their stories. Modeled after The Moth, the event features stories that are inspiring, educational, sad, funny, moving, poetic, eerie, or all of the above. 

Stories are five minutes long and read back to back for an hour in the large, shady backyard of the Historic Leopold House. Bring a blanket or chair and come listen or tell a story on a shady lawn in downtown Albuquerque.

Why do we do it?
To deepen our relationship with each other and with the more-than-human world through listening and sharing.

Are you interested in sharing a story?

Sign up to be a storyteller

WHEN IS IT?

​WHEN:
Sunday, June 28th
6:00 PM - 8:00PM
Arrive at 6:00 PM to mingle and explore the Leopold House. Storytelling starts promptly at 6:30 PM.

WHERE:
The Historic Aldo Leopold House
135 14th St SW
Albuquerque, NM 87104
​
COST:
Free!
​Be sure to bring a blanket, chair, or something to sit on.
​Feel free to bring snacks or drinks. All ages are welcome.

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Guidelines for storytellers:
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1. Stories must be true.
2. Stories must be told in the first person.
3. No soapboxing, preaching, standup routines, etc.
4. Stories must be told in 5-6 minutes.
5. Must relate in someway to the theme of the event.

​JUNE'S THEME:
WATER


​Water remembers. It carries things, changes shape, disappears, returns, nourishes, destroys, cleanses, connects, and survives. For our first Backyard Story Night, we invite stories inspired by water in all its forms: literal, emotional, spiritual, environmental, personal, or imagined.

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Does water have life? Is water life? How has a river, the ocean, a lake transformed you? Has water healed you? Does water feel like home to you? What memories do rain, rivers, or the ocean bring up for you?

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This theme is inspired by the "June" essay in Part I of Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac, in which he writes a short vignette for each month. For the "June" essay, he writes about sitting by a river, fishing, and pondering the ways in which humans and trout are alike.
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​A good story is specific, personal, and true. You do not need to be a professional writer or performer. We especially welcome stories rooted in lived experience, observation, work, family, landscape, and community memory.
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​Not sure how to come up with a story?
Click here for The Moth's tips and tricks for coming up with a memorable story!

Sign up to be a storyteller

​HOW IT WORKS

1. Follow us on Instagram or here to find out the monthly theme
Themes are announced several weeks in advance.

2. Sign Up to Tell a Story
Storytellers submit a short pitch ahead of time.

3. Share a Five-Minute True Story

4. Gather in Community
​Story sharing continues before and after the event around conversation, new connections, and the night air.

Sign up to be a storyteller