This evening people will gather in Woodlawn High School‘s auditorium from across the metro area to hear and share in listening to Woodlawn Stories, a storytelling project undertaken by the Desert Island Supply Co, a nonprofit creative writing program for children in Birmingham, AL.

Technical difficulties have delayed us sharing a completed piece, but we felt that if you hadn’t quite made up your mind about where you were planning to go this evening that you needed to hear from DISCO founder Chip Brantley about what tonight’s event means to him – and potentially to the City of Birmingham.

The project was supported in part by a $10,000 award from the Kresge Arts in Birmingham program. Fifty people from Woodlawn were invited to share their stories with each other and the community at large, potentially the first step in changing the narrative that has been written for them by others.

This weekend’s performances are free and open to the public. Tonight’s will begin at 7 p.m. with Saturday’s beginning at 4 p.m.

By the way, if Chip can’t convince you to attend, maybe Woodlawn High School graduate and retired college football coach Bobby Bowden’s comments from his appearance on WJOX’s Morning Drive today can.