Desert Awareness Committee to lead storytelling workshop at Harmony Hollow

Cave Creek, Arizona – The Desert Awareness Committee (DAC), are leading efforts to launch a new storytelling program that connects with beautiful Harmony Hollow in the Spur Cross Ranch Recreational preserve. The event will take place on Saturday, October 18, 2025, from 9 AM-2:30 PM at Harmony Hollow (Spur Cross) in Cave Creek, Ariz.

“Storytelling is a way of communicating and sharing your personal and cultural history with others who are eager to learn,” says the DAC’s Diane Vaszily. “There are endless fascinating stories to be told. Our fall storytelling festival will help people learn, practice and hone their craft. The session, which will be held in the breathtaking desert foothills, will help guests develop more meaningful, memorable stories for others to enjoy.”

Vaszily says storytelling professionals from the Storytelling Institute at South Mountain Community College will be onsite to guide storytellers who want to learn or improve how to create engaging stories related to life in the desert. A number of interactive workshops will be offered during the day including “why storytelling matters” and “pourquoi,” which means telling why something is the way it is.

Participants also will better understand how to create a brief, engaging story related to life in the desert and what happens at a ‘story concert. During the five-hour storytelling event in the historic Harmony Hollow homestead, guests will tell their personal stories or stories about life in the desert. The two levels of storytellers will rotate locations during the festival. People will learn how to make their story messages more compelling, more captivating.

Harmony Hollow is located at 44316 N. Spur Cross Road. Parking is available onsite at Harmony Hollow. To attend, make reservations at hollandcenter.org/desert-awareness. Reservations are required. The per person donation for the event is $25. Guests should bring comfortable clothes, a water bottle, notebook and a pencil or pen.

The Holland Center, home to the Desert Awareness Committee, is part of the Foothills Community Foundation. The Holland Center is the only non-profit community center of its kind serving the northeast area of the valley and is the area’s only hub of lifelong enrichment opportunities in art, theater, leadership, desert awareness, history, personal development, cultural awareness, community service, social gatherings, special eve