Once upon a time in Central Park

In the early 1950s, the Danish-American Women’s Association of New York was looking for a special way to commemorate the 150^th anniversary of the birth of Hans Christian Andersen.  Each week, the Association would read the author’s fairy tales on NYC radio, and children across the city tuned in faithfully.  So the Association launched an early 'kickstarter' campaign and invited all the school children in New York to donate one penny each to help them fund a statue of the beloved author to be placed in Central Park. 

Pennies poured in from across the five boroughs (and some kids in Denmark even pitched in).  The Women’s Association and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation donated the extra funds, and Danish-American sculptor George Lober completed his bronze masterpiece.  The statue of Hans Christian Andersen was unveiled in Central Park in 1956, as a gift to the world from New York’s schoolchildren. 

The crowd gathers for storytime

The unveiling also launched the non-profit Hans Christian Andersen Storytelling Center, which still hosts free weekly readings of folk and fairy tales at the statue every Saturday morning at 11am, between June and September.  Storytelling is held rain or shine, and kids of all ages convene to hear the stories - and not just the Hans Christian Andersen classics, but tales from all over the world.  All the Directors and officers of the Center are unpaid volunteers, but the professional storytellers and the monitors are compensated for their work.  It is a wonderful organisation that has been going strong for 58 years.

In fact, the storytelling hour is one of my favourite things about the New York summer.   If I'm out of bed early enough on a Saturday, I'll take the subway to Central Park, grab a take-away coffee from The Boathouse and head over to the statue, just in time for the stories to begin. 

I usually sit off to the side on one of the Park benches, but last weekend I actually introduced myself to Laura Simms, the Artistic Director of the Center (pictured on the right here).  Laura has been on staff for over 40 years, which is a very impressive commitment.  I also said hello to Donna Jacobs Sife, one of their guest storytellers, who had flown over from Sydney to participate.  It was probably a little early in the day for me to be so congenial but perhaps I'm mellowing in my old age.

Over the course of the hour, we were treated to a very vivid interpretation of "The Emperor's New Clothes" (a Hans Christian Anderson classic); a Native American story similar to "Cinderella"; and finally two short stories that covered the themes of honesty and death.

 

At all times, the storytellers engaged the kids in the audience - through song, sounds, and repetition.  We were all encouraged to participate (and you know my stance on audience participation), but when you see the concentration on the faces of the kids, and the joy they derive from being so capably entertained, you know your weekend is off to a good start.

When the storytelling was over for another week, the spell had been broken and the kids descended once more upon the Hans Christian Andersen statue - climbing all over him and patting the Ugly Duckling on the head.  And as chaotic as that always gets, it gives me confidence that our collective love affair with one of the world's greatest storytellers will live on, happily ever after.