PORT ANGELES — Is it possible to plunge headlong to the South Pole, then circle back up to Africa to catch a buzz?
Absolutely, Sequim resident Ingrid Nixon figures.
She’ll light out for Antarctica and six other blue-planet locations, all inside of 75 minutes, this Wednesday.
Traveling on the wings of her words, Nixon will bring anybody who wants to come, with a 7 p.m. departure from the Raymond Carver Room at the Port Angeles Library.
“Around the World in Seven Stories” is the name of Nixon’s family-friendly program, to which admission is free at the library, 2210 S. Peabody St.
Nixon is both a world traveler and a student earning a master’s in storytelling from East Tennessee State University.
Wednesday evening’s event, sponsored by the Story People of Clallam County, is a milestone marking completion of her degree’s practical section.
While there’s no charge, guests are encouraged to bring a few nonperishable food items for the Port Angeles Food Bank. In return, they will be entered in drawings for copies of Nixon’s CD titled “Grimm’s with a Twist.” These are Grimm’s fairy tales given a “delightfully dark” flavor, Nixon said.
There’s nothing like getting up there with just your voice and memory, added the storyteller, who grew up in Port Angeles.
She’s twice been a featured teller at the city’s Forest Storytelling Festival, including at the 21st annual gathering this October.
“Every time I’ve been to the microphone,” Nixon said, “I’ve walked away a better teller.”
A Grimm’s fairy tale could be one of her seven stories from around the world. But Nixon, whose background is Finnish, might have a story from Finland instead. She’ll decide soon.
What she knows for sure: A tale from the Tehuelche people of Patagonia about the origin of the Southern Cross will be on the itinerary, as will “Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears,” an African tale.
“I love this story. It is the first story I ever told in a festival setting,” Nixon said of “Mosquitoes.”
This artist’s stories are informed by nearly 30 years working in the expedition travel industry.
She’s visited all seven continents and has been to Antarctica more than 25 times.
She also served as head naturalist at Denali and Mount Rainier national parks before moving to the relatively mild Dungeness Valley with her husband, Kevin Clement.
The bottom of the world — just one epic trip — is yet another destination Wednesday night, in Nixon’s story of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition, led by Otto Nordenskjold, of 1901-04.
“I’ll tell a brief version of what happened,” she promised, adding that the account is “jaw-dropping.”
Nixon also will weave in a few anecdotes about her own travels — such as one about how she learned to put on a sari. She hopes to spark her listeners’ travel memories, for still more story-sharing.
“The Story People of Clallam County are a really supportive group,” Nixon added.
The nonprofit organization holds monthly story swaps at the Port Angeles Library, the Liars’ Contest in June and the Forest Storytelling Festival at Peninsula College, which draws tellers from across the continent, every fall.
“This incredible spectrum of storytelling,” she said, “is not available everywhere.”
To find out more about the swaps and other activities, see ClallamStoryPeople.org or phone board president Erran Sharpe at 360-460-6594.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
