The daily Astorian., January 16, 2020, Page 21, Image 21

Continued from Page 4
If You Go
competition to Seaside Mayor Jay Barber,
spurring jokes about the competition being
rigged and sparking the idea of holding a
town versus town competition.
More importantly than righting the
wrong, however, Kirk wanted people, espe-
cially from demographics who don’t nor-
mally frequent her establishment, to have
an opportunity to share their experiences.
“Those stories are important and they
don’t always have a place to tell them,”
she said. “All stories are meant to bring us
closer together.”
Mercer agreed, adding, “It’s a defi ning
moment. … What gives the fi rst impression
of you? If you’re meeting somebody new,
what story do you tell?”
Pacifi c Story Slam
Weekly Jan. 20 — March 19
6:30 p.m. Monday, North Beach Tavern,
102 Pioneer Rd, Long Beach, Wash.
7 p.m. Wednesday, Worker’s Tavern, 281 W
Marine Dr, Astoria
6 p.m. Thursdays, Maggie’s on the Prom,
581 S Promenade, Seaside
Free
Judging the best
The Pacifi c Story Slam will borrow
numerous concepts — and themes — from
the event held at Maggie’s last year. All sto-
ries must be true, personal stories told in
fi rst-person and under fi ve minutes.
One element that will change is judging.
At Maggie’s, three volunteer judges
were asked to publicly score the stories,
a judging style used at Rhythm and Rye’s
StoryOly in Olympia, Wash. However, vot-
ing in a crowd of 200 is more anonymous
than in a crowd of 20, Mercer said, add-
ing, “People don’t want to be considered
judgmental.”
She and Kirk found a signifi cant amount
of “guilt-voting” transpired, where judges
were compelled to give a story a high mark,
not because it was told well but because
they felt bad the speaker experienced the
life events they were sharing.
“We wanted to eliminate that and have
this be about storytelling itself,” Kirk said.
For the Pacifi c Story Slam, every audi-
ence member can vote by anonymous bal-
lot, so fi nal scores are an average of the
general opinion. During a Haunted Story
Slam at Workers, Kirk experimented with
this judging method to ensure there is ade-
quate time to calculate ballots.
At the Grand Slam, the mayors of
Astoria, Seaside, and Long Beach will
judge, along with writer and fi lmmaker
Arthur Bradford and Harry Gerard “Buzz”
Bissinger, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journal-
ist and author of Friday Night Lights. The
contenders will compete for cash prizes,
bragging rights, and a trophy to be dis-
played at their hometown bar.
Organizers are unsure whether the
Pacifi c Story Slam will become an annual
event that eventually involves more town.
If it does grow larger, Kirk said, they will
incorporate other bars, where people go to
fi nd “their own community.”
“A bar isn’t necessarily about alcohol,”
she said. “It’s about fi nding a living room
that is public where people meet and fi nd
other people to share with.”
•Art Cards •Stationary
•Jewelry •Ceramics
1133 Commercial Street
Astoria, OR 97103
503.468.0308
Art Cards • Stationery
Jewelry • Ceramics
1133 Commercial Street
Astoria, OR 97103
503.468.0308
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2020 // 5