Embody | Embrace Returns for 2022

The event that celebrated Black history, hair and culture in 2020 and ethnic foods and the cultures from which they originate in 2021 returns for a third exploration in 2022. Join us for a celebration of stories and storytelling at the North Liberty Community Center on Nov. 12. Find community and embrace your story with Embody | Embrace.

Embody your truth. Embrace your community. Tell your story.

Here's What You Need to Know

The five Ws

  • Who: You! Adults and teens are invited to learn about different forms of storytelling from local experts in the field. (Free childcare is available for infants and children up to 5th grade.)
  • What: Explore storytelling in a variety of forms with local artists who specialize in personal story writing and blogging, playwriting, table-top role player games, stand-up comedy and more.
  • Where: North Liberty Community Center, 520 W. Cherry St, North Liberty.
  • When: Saturday, Nov. 12, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Why: As part of our third installment of the Embody | Embrace series, celebrate the power of storytelling and learn new ways to tell your story.

Schedule

  • 11 a.m.: Abena Imhotep, writer, educator, strategist and community builder: “Speak, Sis: Storytelling as the Practice of Freedom” (Library Meeting Room ABCD)
  • 1 p.m.: Kellee Forkenbrock, blogger, author and librarian: “Once Upon a Blog: Using Your Platform to Tell Your Story” (Library Meeting Room ABCD)
  • 1 to 1:30 p.m.: Nick Mendoza, writer, dancer, musician and United Action for Youth staffer: “How to Create Engaging Characters, a Dungeons & Dragons workshop for all ages” (Recreation Classrooms)
  • 1:30 to 4 p.m.: United Action for Youth: “A D&D One-Shot Session for Teens, an introductory roleplaying session for students in grades 6-12” (Library Teen Lounge)
  • 2 p.m.: “On Storytelling” – a roundtable discussion (Library Meeting Room ABCD)
    • Abena Imhotep, writer, educator, strategist and community builder
    • Nick Mendoza, writer, dancer, musician and United Action for Youth staffer
    • Megan Gogerty, a playwright, comedian and associate professor of theatre arts
    • Moderated by Angela McConville, City of North Liberty special projects coordinator
  • 3 p.m.: Venise Berry, author, scholar of African American cultural criticism and associate professor of journalism and African American studies (Library Meeting Room ABCD)

Food and drink

  • Da Flava Unit and Luna’s Tacos of Iowa City will be on site for purchase from 12 to 1 p.m.

How to get there and where to park

  • North Liberty Community Center is located at 520 W Cherry St., accessible from both Cherry St and Community Dr.
  • Please park on the Community Center’s paved lots.
  • Or skip the car and walk, bike or roller blade to the Community Center!

You also might be wondering

  • You are welcome to attend one, a few or all of the sessions. Feel free to come and go throughout the day.
  • Free childcare is available for infants and children up to 5th grade.

How to volunteer

Community events like these require volunteers to make them happen. Several opportunities exist to help out on Nov. 12. Sign up online.

Who to thank

This event is part of the City Slate. The yearlong schedule of events is made possible by Adam Schechinger State Farm, Centro, Inc, The Eastern Iowa Airport – CID, GEICO Philanthropic Foundation, Hills Bank, MidWestOne Bank, Shive-Hattery, South Slope Cooperative, University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics and Veridian Credit Union.

Stay in the loop

Any cancellations or delays will be posted in the Facebook events:

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Accessibility

We’re committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for this event for individuals with disabilities. If you need an accommodation to participate, please contact [email protected] or call (319) 626-5726.

More City Slate Fun

This event is part of the City Slate, a compilation of North Liberty’s largest and free city-produced events, with more than 40 events planned in 2022. Explore the schedule at northlibertyiowa.org/cityslate.

 

Guest Speaker: Abena Imhotep

Abena Imhotep is the founder and Executive Director of Sankofa Strategies Consulting, a firm that guides leaders and business owners in strategies for success through conversations around equity and awareness. A former candidate for Iowa lieutenant governor and an active advocate, Abena sits on the boards of the American Red Cross of Central Iowa, the African American Museum of Iowa, Union of Black America, and Des Moines’ Selma. A published writer, Abena created and runs the Sankofa Literary & Empowerment Group (SLG) and the SLG Book Club which promote literacy and lifelong learning by celebrating works by black authors. An award-winning local stage actor and singer, Abena has performed with the Pyramid Theatre Company and Des Moines Young Artists’ Theatre.

Guest Speaker: Kellee Forkenbrock

Kellee Forkenbrock is a librarian and, under the pseudonym Eliza David, the romance author of twelve self-published novels, including the six-book Cougarette series. Kellee is a yoga blogger as well (ElizaDavid.com) and has served as a contributing writer for blogs like Real Moms of Eastern IowaThe Good Men Project, and Thirty on Tap. Her last release, The Lamar St. Jon Experience, was selected for Pitch Wars mentorship in 2018 and released in 2019.  Her future projects include contributing to Hack Library School & Girls, On Film. When she’s not writing, working full-time as a librarian, attending grad school (UI MLIS ’23), or raising two children with her loving husband, Kellee enjoys reading throwback Jackie Collins, acting out on Twitter, and indulging in the occasional order of cheese fries.

Guest Speaker: Megan Gogerty

Megan Gogerty is a playwright and comedian. Named Best Comedian of the CRANDIC by Little Village, her solo show Lady Macbeth and Her Pal, Megan played the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and won the Audience Pick of the Fringe at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. Her play Bad Panda (Theatre Without Borders, Beijing; Iron Crow Theatre Co.; WordBRIDGE Boomerang Playwright honoree) is published by Original Works Publishing and was translated into Spanish for a five-month run at Del Teatro Milan in Mexico City. Megan was a Playwrights’ Center Jerome Fellow, a WordBRIDGE alum, and she earned her MFA in Playwriting from the University of Texas at Austin. She currently teaches playwriting at the University of Iowa and is a regularly returning visiting faculty for the Playwright’s Lab at Hollins University.

Guest Speaker: Nick Mendoza

Nick Mendoza is a Filipino-American artist in Iowa City. He uses his passions for music, dance, writing, and roleplaying games in his work as a Youth Advocate at United Action for Youth. Nick utilizes D&D as a cooperative storytelling platform, and incorporates practices of mindfulness and socio-emotional learning. His favorite class is rogue, and his favorite monster is the Night Hag.

Guest Speaker: Venise Berry

Venise Berry is the author of three national bestselling novels: So Good, An African American Love Story (1996); All of Me, A Voluptuous Tale (2000); and Colored Sugar Water (2002). Her memoir Driven: love, career and the pursuit of happiness was released in 2018. Berry has co-edited two anthologies, Black Culture & Experience: Contemporary Issues (2015) and Mediated Messages and African American Culture: Contemporary Issues (1996). She is also the co-author of two nonfiction film books, The Historical Dictionary of African American Cinema (Scarecrow Press, 2015 & 2007) and The 50 Most Influential Black Films (Citadel 2001). Her numerous short stories, journal articles, and book chapters appear widely in creative and academic circles. Berry is an associate professor of Journalism and African American Studies at the University of Iowa.

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