Ever wish you could gain the confidence and clarity to tell the story you NEED to tell in ONE very special day?
Join Christa Ovenell & Sheryl MacKay at
Legacy Stories
This special day will take you from “does my story matter?” to “this story needs to be told!”
Legacy Stories is a playful, intimate, and clarifying session that will help you connect deeply to what matters most: now, and in the end.
If you’re someone who KNOWS you have a story inside but you find yourself saying “is it important enough” or “who would want to hear it” or even “I’m not skilled enough to tell it” - then this workshop is for you!
What will we do?
We’ll spend the day immersed in playful exploration of what legacy stories are and why telling yours matters! We’ll use our heads, our hearts, our hands, and our words to connect deeply to ourselves, each other, and our own unique and deeply rooted creativity.
Is it hard? Will I have to share my work?
It’s not hard at all. Sheryl and I are expert facilitators (if we do say so ourselves) and the day will fly by. This isn’t a “listen to the experts” kind of event…you’re going to be right there doing it. You’re going to connect with each other, with us, and most importantly, with what story you want to tell and why it’s so important you do!
Should my best friend/spouse/kid/mom come with me?
You’re going to spend a day connecting to what matters most. Folks who come with someone they love are almost at an unfair advantage…but we’ll let you bring your sweetie, absolutely.
Such a great workshop! It helped me to focus on my life and to define who I am, what I did, and why it matters.
—P. Pratt, Legacy Stories participant
Sheryl and I developed the Legacy Stories Workshop in 2022 because we were struck by how many people incredible people we knew who were always second-guessing their own creativity, their abilities, and ultimately, the value they bring to this world!
We were both going through some BIG transitions at the time. There were so many decisions to make about which projects to prioritize that sometimes it was hard to get started on any of them. We figured we might not be alone in this. So we built Legacy Stories!
Creating this program helped us gain clarity.
It helped us feel confident about our (rather unique) subject matter expertise.
Most of all though? Creating Legacy Stories helped us figure out the personal and professional stories we want to tell for ourselves. And it made us realize they were absolutely worth telling.
And we think it will help you, too!
You’re probably a lot like us… you don’t know how to get started when it comes to telling your stories.
And:
⇝ You might be afraid that they aren’t “important” enough to tell, anyway.
⇝ You might be experiencing a sense of overwhelm, which leads to just putting the whole project off. After all, you’ll get to it someday, right?
⇝ Or maybe you really want to allow yourself some time to exercise your creative muscles (or heck, even figure out if you still have any!) but you can’t, because who has time for one more project, right?
And all that? Well, that probably…
❔ Has you feeling like your story isn’t worth telling.
or maybe…
❔ Like you aren’t the one to tell it.
or even worse?
❔ You might have come to believe that you just don’t have the skills to get what’s in your head onto paper (or into a recording, or onto video…you get the point).
But you know what? Sheryl and I have seen this over and over. What you’re telling yourself isn’t true!
What if just by spending one care-free day with other creative souls you could gain clarity about the story you want to tell and the confidence that you’re the one to tell it?
Sheryl and I get how hard it can be. This is why we created the Legacy Stories workshop.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t think of yourself as a writer. Or if you question your creativity. It doesn’t even matter if you think you don’t have a story that’s worth telling.
After all, this isn’t a writing workshop. It’s an intimate, intensive, and playful program that will help you connect to your most deeply held values, your biggest strengths, and your fondest dreams.
Our day together will help you connect to what matters most, now and in the end.
Legacy Stories it is your key to fostering your creative confidence.
I came to the workshop uncertain about what I would talk about. The format was safe, nurturing and inspiring and helped lead to clarity on what stories I may want to share and how to share them.
—S. Barclay, Legacy Stories participant
Legacy Stories: Summer-Camp Edition
The time you need, the space you need, the support you need, the community you need…to define, refine, and relate your story.
What can you expect when you attend Legacy Stories?
A day of connection…
Both Sheryl and Christa are known for their ability to connect quickly and deeply with people. Anyone who ever tuned into North By Northwest when Sheryl was host will remember the sense of being connected to a province-wide community of creative, expressive, and let’s be honest, quirky folks!
People who know Christa know that she’s likely to get you talking about what really matters before you have even gotten your jacket off and your tea ordered!
We begin Legacy Stories with a foundational exercise that will help you connect to yourself, your stories, and the other workshop participants deeply and authentically.
Time and space for creativity
Our day will slide back and forth between group interactions and personal creative exploration. We do this with a playfulness that you might not have felt for a very long time….
We know that tapping into artistic, creative, physical and emotional creativity will help you release your story. But we also know folks are very quick to self-censor, often seeking perfection instead of playfulness.
Our workshop exercises have been designed to help you uncover the watershed moments in your life and capture them in a juicy and creative way allowing you to weave the threads of your story together.
An opportunity to listen deeply and be heard clearly…
We keep this workshop small for a reason. And we do it in person for a reason.
When we take the time to listen closely and are given the opportunity to share stories—big or small, complete or unfinished, meaningful or inconsequential—something truly magical happens.
Sheryl’s decade’s-long experience as an interviewer has given her incredible insight into how to draw stories out. The secret might surprise you! (and we can’t wait to share it with you!)
The chance to nurture yourself
We know that you don’t get the time you deserve. We are busy people, leading busy lives, and taking time to connect to your creative expression—especially if you’re not confident in that expression—is something you probably don’t get to do very often.
We have created this workshop at a pace that will leave you feeling enriched and relaxed. And inspired to make time for this sort of self-kindness again and again!
Spend the day with us. We have everything ready and will take care of everything you might need or want. Join us for one very special day of creativity, confidence, and connection.
Please join us.
Invest in your creativity.
Your connection to yourself. To your community. To your legacy.
Your story, worth telling.
Besides all the creative juices we’ll fire up, your tuition includes all supplies, meals and snacks, and some pretty fun swag, too!
Here’s what past participants have have shared about Legacy Stories …
“An excellent jumping off point if you are interested or thinking of legacy: yours, your parents, a friend’s...anyone’s!”
“Creating a safe space to explore the uniqueness of each individual was enriching and powerful. Everyone’s story matters!”
“This workshop was fun, deep, moving and led me easily into new awareness and insights into the two stories I brought with me, plus deeper clarity about what legacy means to me.”
We’d love to think that a day spent with the two of us and a small group of courageous, creative, and kind humans is enough to convince you to sign up…but we have other reasons you might like to join us too!
Lunch and snacks…
We have everything taken care of, all you have to do is show up. We keep this group small so we can (literally) cater to every need. Just get yourself here, and we’ll keep you fed and watered all day.
SWAG!
Who knew that having friends who are experts in end-of-life and after-death care could be so enriching? You’ll leave with a few special gifts from some wonderful associates: Be Ceremonial, Touchstone Rings, and LegalWills.ca.
Relationships…with us, with yourself, and with each other!
This is a day full of creative connection, of joy, of exploration and play. You probably haven’t let yourself have this much fun in a very long time. I would love to have you join us: Sheryl and I keep this purposefully intimate—seats are VERY limited. Please take the leap and join us. You’ll be so glad you did.
Being part of this workshop with Christa and Sheryl was lovely. The warmth of the invitations to share stories supported me to dig in and offer some of my life experience. Thank you so much for creating this workshop!
—J. Byres, Legacy Stories participant
You might be thinking right now “my story isn’t all that important” or you might have one of these other questions below. Here’s a bit of straight talk to address your wories
-
We’ve had participants show up with stacks of journals and folks show up who just felt called to come, even though they “didn’t think they had a story worth telling”. We meet you where you’re at: and wherever that is is EXACTLY where you need to be right now.
-
Christa has a saying: “When we start talking about what matters in the end, we get mighty clear on what matters now.” We have created a very nurturing space, and you are never compelled to participate in any part of the day that doesn’t feel right to you. That said, we’ve NEVER had anyone step away from the day!
-
What’s so interesting about our day together is we often find that people come thinking they are ready to tell ONE story but through our time together and our enriching, connecting, and clarifying exercises, many folks leave with a totally different story in mind. So don’t worry about having a story or not. YOU HAVE ONE. And we’ll help you uncover it!
-
Trust us, people care. And folks without kids are every bit as interesting as people with kids (let’s be honest, your childless aunt lived a pretty glamorous life full of travel and adventure, didn’t she? Wouldn’t it be amazing to know her stories?
-
You’re totally right: we aren’t going to get your life story written in a day! We’re going to dig deep into why legacy stories matter and what stories you might want to tell. We have time built right into the day to get you started and our exercises help you “dig into” what matters most. You’ll leave knowing how to proceed and we’ll help you keep on track with personalized follow up, too.
-
This isn’t a writing workshop. But the thing is, you’re going to leave KNOWING that you a) have a story and b) it’s worth telling! We’ve had people with absolutely no writing experience and we’ve had folks who have been writing in some form or another (even professionally!) so we genuinely mean it when we say this will suit you wherever you’re at.
-
We’ll start at 10 am in the beautiful Salons of St. Andrew’s Wesley United Church (1016 Nelson Street, in downtown Vancouver). There’s parking below and excellent transit options. If you’re biking, you can secure your bike inside for total peace of mind.
We’ll check in with you personally on dietary preferences or requirements, and take care of all your physical needs during the day.
Once you register, you’ll get a short note about some things you might want to think about before our day together. Rest assured there’s not “pre-work” and if you don’t have something you’re already working on, don’t worry! You’re going to be amazed at the power of small steps, and the emotional strength of small projects.
Sheryl and I became fast friends when we took an End of Life Doula course together back in 2020. She was a lifelong broadcaster with 40 years of experience conducting interviews and curating meaningful conversations. Not many folks know this, but she’s also a clinical counsellor! I was a new funeral director with a LONG background in education, and I was on a mission to change the way we think about, talk about, and plan for end-of-life experiences. By the second day of class, we had decided to team up and change the (death) world together!
We both believe that connection, compassion, and creativity are key to living well. My practical curriculum design background and Sheryl’s uncanny ability to draw out stories, to listen deeply and connect authentically made creating the Legacy Stories Workshop together a dream project. So come be part of our dream. We can’t wait to meet you, to hear your stories, and to become a tiny part of your unique legacy.