New Story Spokane Festival

Get inspired by hearing from ordinary people – farmers, builders, entrepreneurs, scientists, musicians, spiritual leaders, and others – who are doing extraordinary work in our community. And learn how you can join them in living your purpose, for the good of people and the planet.

We don’t have to give in to the age-old stories of anger, division, and despair. Discover a new story of hope and change.

More about New Story Spokane
New Story Spokane is an openhearted collaboration to “Prosper, together, by caring for Planet and People.”

What is New Story Spokane?

Visit newstoryfestival.com/spokane to learn more about us and join our mailing list!

 Pricing 
Total cost of admission is $45 and includes both days’ events.

  Two-Day Festival  
Friday May 19, 2023 | 4:00pm — 8:30pm
Saturday May 20, 2023 | 8:00am — 8:00pm

 Our Sponsors 
Smith-Barbieri Progressive Fund | Gonzaga Center for Climate, Society, and Environment | | Community Building | SIMBA | SpoFamily Robinson

 Our Endorsers 
The Grain Shed | Palouse Heritage Grains | Spokane Riverkeeper | Measure Meant Consulting | Inland Northwest Land Conservancy | Dishman Hills Conservancy | Spokane Audubon Society | Spokane Conservation District | 350 Spokane

Festival Topics
Sustainable agriculture
Ecological restoration
Green building
Resource efficiency
Shelter for all
Social equity
Cultural preservation
And many more

Plus | embodiment circles, concert, and refreshments

 Featuring sessions with 

PLENARY PRESENTERS
Warren Seyler (Spokane Tribe Member)
Warren has worked closely with the Spokane Tribe of Indians for more than 37 years, first as a consultant and elected member of the Spokane Tribal Business Council, and now as an expert on tribal history. He possesses deep insight into tribal government and history, as well as nonprofit administration. A highly knowledgeable and engaging speaker, Warren frequently gives presentations and historical site tours to schools, universities, county governments, federal agencies, and other tribes.

Gareth Higgins (Storyteller)
Gareth is the co-author of The Seventh Story and one of the originators of the New Story movement. He was born in Belfast during the Troubles in Northern Ireland and knows personally the six stories of domination, revolution, isolation, purification, accumulation and victimization that divide society. Come hear him cast a vision of a more powerful story – the Seventh Story – and explore its connection to a framework that nurtures the goal of “Prospering, together, while caring for Planet and People.”

Sara Thomsen (Singer/Songwriter)
“Thomsen’s soulful voice, poetic lyrics and unforgettable melodies cut through to the heart and the soul of human experience” (Minnesota Women’s Press). With a voice rich as the best mid-west soil, Sara’s songs carry you inward and outward – in, to the particulars of your own life, and out – into the shared humanity of us all. Sara’s music gently enfolds and unfolds the listener, inviting us to experience what a Seventh Story world might feel like.

Michael Smith (Scientist)
A neighbor from Kalispell, Montana, Michael is one of those rare innovators at work behind the scenes on seventh-story-solutions. Producing fertilizer, fuel, and food, his Earth Power Lodge (EPL) is a closed-loop innovation based on Natural Intelligence that is rooted in the concept of biomimicry. His company, REGENiTECH, envisions decentralized bioreactors capable of converting waste into powerful biological agents that support the regeneration of our precious natural resources and the empowerment of local communities. His work is featured in the recent movie The Need to Grow which is available online.

:::::::BREAKOUT SESSIONS FACILITATORS (local):::::::

Don Scheuerman (Palouse Grain Farmer)
Don is a man with a simple mission – revitalize grains thought to be lost and gone while also regenerating the soil of the Palouse that has been degraded over decades by agrochemicals and poor farming habits. Don has managed to bring back over 10 uniquely traditional varieties of grain with rich backstories, flavors, and impact on the land. These grains have then been incorporated into the bread, beer, pastries, and foods of The Grain Shed to bring together history and flavor. Don farms outside Endicott, WA. Come listen to the Seventh Story from his farming perspective.

Joel Williamson
(Co-Op member/owner) Joel arrived in the business and entrepreneurship realm from something much different – the theatre world! He spent many years designing professional lighting for the stage, but it was in his family’s large greenhouse on Spokane’s South Hill that he saw how a truly local business can function. After his time in theater, Joel earned an MBA with an emphasis on entrepreneurship and sustainable business finance. He then co-founded Local Inland Northwest Cooperative Foods (LINC Foods) and LINC Malt to connect local farms with schools, restaurants, institutions, breweries, distilleries, and customers with the finest food and malt in the area.

Mariah McKay (Creative Connector)
Mariah is the founder of the Spokane Independent Metro Business Alliance (s.i.m.b.a.) whose mission is to help build a prosperous, equitable, and local economy with shared opportunities, broadened ownership, and unique community character. She is passionate about everything local, and has co-created Haystack Heights, Spokane’s first cohousing community in the Perry District, and is the Community Manager for her housing company Our Natural Homes, LLC. Listen to her engagement of the Seventh Story through s.i.m.b.a.’s investment in the People and Prosperity of our area.

Jim Dawson (Co-housing Gardener)
Jim co-created Spokane’s co-housing community, Haystack Heights, the first in the Inland Northwest. He co-manages Our Natural Homes LLC, and leads a meditation group at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane. Learning how to grow, cook, and preserve yummy organic foods from the urban farm in his backyard is a favorite pastime. He lives at Haystack Heights with his partner and their pets. He works as the Eastern WA director of Fuse, the state’s largest progressive organization – “people creating change online, on the ground, and on issues that matter.”

Kara Odegard (Sustainability Pro)
Kara is the founder and owner of Measure Meant. She focuses on helping organizations integrate sustainability strategies throughout their operations and meet rigorous standards of social and environmental accountability and transparency. She has more than 22 years working in both the public and private sectors including multinational, national and local organizations across multiple industries. Kara knows that change isn’t easy, but making a positive difference is exhilarating.

Diane Stutzman(Desert Jewels Nursery) Diane Stutzman is the founder and owner of Desert Jewels Nursery in Spokane, which specializes in growing hardy, locally adapted, and drought-tolerant plants that bring beauty to a landscape while using minimal resources. For more than 20 years, she worked as a botanist and plant community ecologist with the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, The Nature Conservancy in South Dakota, and the Bureau of Land Management in Oregon and Washington. Diane will share about the important role homeowners can play in ecological restoration through indigenous planting.