Park Your Stories: Story Sharing in the GRAND Outdoors
Nancy Angus
Thunder Bay
Nancy Angus’s project invited people to meet in local parks and green spaces to write about their lives and share short, light-hearted stories. Over the past year, the project created new partnerships, built intergenerational connections, and even led to permanent park infrastructure in Thunder Bay. Nancy’s work brought strangers together to become friends through stories and demonstrated the power of a simple invitation.
A Year of Invited Stories
Bringing story sharing to an outdoor setting is the theme behind Park Your Stories. Nancy and her team invited participants to meet in local parks and green spaces to write about their lives. They provided writing prompts to get the pens moving and a timer to keep them moving for 10 minutes. Participants did not require any writing experience or English fluency. The goal was to bring strangers together to become friends through sharing personal stories.
They also defined what a Park Your Stories (PYS) story would look like. A PYS story is a short, light-hearted, quick read that can make the reader smile, evoke a memory, or relate to the experience. A PYS story is not about politics, cultural critiques, news issues, or therapeutic journaling. The project was inspired by the pandemic gatherings of strangers in parks with their lawn chairs to connect and chat.
The project made a lasting impact on younger and older residents. Over the year, they created a list and map of GRAND Gathering spaces for summer 2025, both online and in print, and distributed invitations throughout the Heath Park neighbourhood. Nancy presented a high school partnership concept to the City of Thunder Bay Public Art Committee, which was approved in April. High school students designed and painted three City-owned benches, with seniors assisting in the painting. A high school carpentry class built portable wooden chairs for story circles, and a manufacturing class created a metal logo for installation in a City-owned park.
The City’s Parks Department even paid for and installed a permanent cement pad, making a story circle pad a permanent feature of Heath Park. The project received a 2025 TD Park People grant, recruited a volunteer team, facilitated outdoor gatherings and pop-ups, gathered stories for print and audio, recorded nine stories, completed two pilot podcast episodes, conducted photo shoots, and showcased the project through print, audio, and a presentation at a national conference.
There is a willingness to help, but you have to invite. The power of the invitation works.
A team is needed for detailed work, such as walking to neighbours around the story circle park location to invite and inform them. More hands lighten the load when it comes to outdoor event set-ups. Working with high school students was a highlight, and their Foods class enthusiastically participated in the launch party.
She also learned that municipal government would help, but you must provide sufficient lead time. She started the process in November, presented in January, and received approval in April. The City offered strong support through the Parks supervisor and Parks Planner, and the Public Art Committee agreed to keep the artwork on the benches for future seasons.
As a changemaker, Nancy learned that she has a quiet yet tenacious leadership style. With a team of passionate people of all ages, they made Park Your Stories a hit. She discovered that she can lead a successful project, even without leaning on social media, by trusting the power of the invitation and encouraging people to return and keep writing.
I’m a quiet disruptor and a BIG changemaker in a noisy world.
Looking ahead, Nancy and her co-host have recorded two podcast episodes and are seeking sponsors to launch before the end of the year. They hope to have another outdoor season next year at the Heath Park Story Circle. Her ideal future community is the one she lives in now, where small acts of kindness and recognition can deliver big results for individuals and communities.
About Nancy Angus
Nancy Angus is based in Thunder Bay, Ontario. After 35 years in recreation, volunteer management, and freelance writing and broadcasting, she launched Age BIG. As a speaker, storyteller, community connector, and workshop facilitator, Nancy engages individuals and audiences to age BIG: Boldly, Inquisitively, and Gratefully.
She has been recognized as an Influential Woman of Northern Ontario (2015) and a Superior Northerner (2017). In 2024–25, she was honoured as an Ontario Community Changemaker. Her Park Your Stories project also received a national TD Park People grant.
Instagram: @nancy.agebig
Facebook: @AgeBIG
Website: agebig.com
#agingMeaningfully #agingBoldly #weallage-doitBIG