FRIDAY, JAN. 24, Winona, MN
artist reception & Listening / viewing experience
Story by Rick Hall
Art by Natalia Slattery
FRIDAY, JAN. 24, Winona, MN
artist reception & Listening / viewing experience
Story by Rick Hall
Art by Natalia Slattery
Immerse yourself in this unique, multimedia storytelling experience
Friday, Jan. 24, 2025 | 6:00-8:30 pm
119 East 3rd Street | Winona, MN
TICKETS $10: Purchase online or at the door
LIMITED SEATING: Advance ticket purchase recommended
Join artist Rick Hall for an evening of storytelling through all mediums: audio dramatization, visual illustrations, animation, video, and print.
Presented in collaboration with Heart of Winona whose efforts are centered around building safe and sober queer-friendly spaces and connections within Winona and the surrounding counties.
100% of proceeds from ticket sales and bake sale go to support the Heart of Winona organization.
Artist Reception & Book Signing (6:00-7:00 pm)
Engage with the author and event attendees while enjoying the featured art in the gallery space. Light snacks, baked goods, and beverages available for purchase throughout the evening.
Limited copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event. Feel free to make an advance purchase (links above) and bring yours to the event for author signing.
Listening/Viewing Experience (7:00-8:00 pm)
Immerse yourself in a suspenseful tale from the bygone era of 1920s prohibition. This dramatized recording, written and narrated by author Rick Hall, is told from the first-person perspective of a 14-year-old boy. Original illustrations and animations, created by artist Natalia Slattery, visually tell the story as this southern gothic tale unfolds.
Q&A with the artist immediately following presentation (8:00-8:30 pm).
About the Story
Content Warning: This story contains adult themes and language with references to alcohol consumption, addiction, and generational trauma.
Landy, a 14-year-old boy burdened with the secrets of his impoverished Irish immigrant family farming in the hills of Kentucky, struggles to meet the seemingly endless demands of his challenging young life.
On a cold and rain-soaked November night, Landy and his two younger brothers, Jack and Jerry, are forced by their tyrant father, M'dad, to venture with him into the woods to collect a run of 'shine from the family's stillhouse. They travel in a wagon pulled by Old Nancy, the family's blind mare, and their journey escalates into an unimaginable tragedy as the evening unfolds.
With literary nods to Faulkner and Steinbeck, wrapped in the framework of a Hawthorne moral tale, this prohibition-era southern gothic story immerses the reader in a world of intergenerational struggles that carry the weight of an inherited past and ripple out as a harbinger for one boy's future.
At its core, Shine is a tale of innocence lost and a reminder that not every life's story has a happy ending ― not even when the expectations of hope for the next generation are carried on the shoulders of a child.