The Apple Orchard Storytelling Challenge

We are pleased to present and excited to launch The Apple Orchard Storytelling Challenge!

Writing Challenge

We're looking for your personal and true story about your experiences in and around apple orchards, and the meanings you've taken from these experiences in your life. It can be anything related to the orchards in the huttonville area or orchards from across the country. Your story can be as long as 500 words, a paragraph, or even as short as an haiku.

Prizes

The grand prize winner will receive a live edge, hand sculpted FRUIT BOWL or, (if we get more than 20 submissions,) a COFFEE TABLE made from salvaged apple wood. Plus publishing of your story on our blog.

All finalists will receive a SERVING PLATTER as seen on our indiegogo campaign. Plus publishing of your story on our blog.

For the past 17 days of our Apple Wood Salvage Initiative Indiegogo campaign, we've been using our woodworking as a vehicle to tell the story of the Big'r Apple Farm, the Ferri family who farmed it for 4 generations, and Huttonville as a growing region in transition.
If you haven't seen the campaign yet check it out here: http://igg.me/at/applewoodsalvage/x/2180307

We've also had great feedback from the family, and our community about the project. Many of you have contacted us letting us know a tidbit about your relationship with the area, be it going up to pick apples, or even growing up in the neighbourhood. Nick Ferri, the farmer who spent his life farming the orchard at the Big'r Apple Farm where we are salvaging the apple wood was kind enough to give us some of his story in an interview.


Nick Ferri interview from Storyboard Furniture on Vimeo.

There has been terrific media coverage of the campaign in the Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, and The Brampton Guardian that's helped enrich and spread the story tremendously.

It has been a wonderfully rich and rewarding experience working on this initiative and we want to give something back to those people who take the time to record their precious memories for the public good. So we'd like to hear your stories,  let's have a writing contest.

The stories of the finalists will be posted on this blog. Anyone who's story is posted will receive a serving platter as seen on our indiegogo page. The best story of them all will get a great prize. If we have twenty entries or less it will be a unique live edge hand sculpted fruit bowl. If we have more than twenty, it will be an apple wood coffee table. In either case the prize will be a special item not offered as a perk on the Indiegogo page! How exciting is that?? Tell you friends and family!

The winning story will be decided by an impartial jury on March 22, the day before the campaign ends. The deadline to submit your story is the first day of spring, March 20. Please see below for the fine print* That's not much time, so get cracking! 

After the campaign ends we will bind all of the stories relating to the Ferri orchard into a book which will be presented to Nick Ferri. We are planning on making Nick a nice piece of furniture as well.. but a collection of stories about what made these apple trees meaningful to you, may just be the icing on his retirement cake.

Please submit your story in the comments box at the bottom of our website www.storyboardfurniture.ca

Good luck! 

Mike and Dennis
Storyboard Furniture

*The fine print:

1. There is a limit of one entry per person. Pick your best story! 
2. Finalist stories will be posted to our blog. You agree that we are able to use your submission in this way.
3. You also agree that we may also use your submissions at any point in the future in print, or on the web.