On July 17th, 2025, MediaRites launched the inaugural event for The -Ism Storytellers Project in Astoria, Oregon. Despite the good weather, about 40 people attended, including the mayor of Astoria. Each event is curated by a local host who chooses storytellers from within their own communities.

The inaugural host was writer and multimedia storyteller Susan Banyas. She brought together a visual artist, a forester, a farming couple and the publisher of an independent alternative magazine. Susan rose to the mission of mixing artists and community people to share insightful and endearing stories about their own experiences with “Courage, Grace and Grit.”

Astoria is a port city of more than 10,000 people situated in Clatsop County,  in the northwest corner of Oregon. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in Oregon and was named after the fur magnate, John Jacob Astor. It’s a beautiful place, where the Columbia River flows out into the deepwater port. The city itself has so many stories embedded in history.

Susan Banyas was a long standing artist in Portland. She ran a performance space and a general artists hub at Dreamswell Studio. There she created her own works of Soul Stories that combined movement with personal storytelling. Her longtime collaboration with composer/musician David Ornette Cherry included Susan Banyas’ autobiographical play “The Hillsboro Story” at Artists Repertory Theatre. She moved to Astoria well over a decade ago and quickly became part of the community, not just with artists but with fishers, foresters and farmers. Banyas curated this storytelling event with a broad perspective that speaks to Astoria’s history and connection to the sea and natural world. The event was held and recorded at the intimate venue of The Anita Building and drew many residents including the Mayor of Astoria in July 2025. 

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In this episode you’ll hear Host Susan Banyas and five storytellers…

Dinah Urell is a Finnish descendant of what she describes as hearty, creative, union people. At one time Astoria was home to the largest settlement of Finns west of the Mississippi. Urell is also the publisher of Hipfish Monthly since 1997. It’s a vital alternative press that also spotlights Astoria’s arts and culture scene. And She produces live performances at the KALA Performance Space.

Scott & Bonnie Thompson of Blackberry Bog Farm together run a 5th generation family farm that grows seasonal veggies, flowers, berries, nursery plants and meals served at the farm. For over 125 years, it’s been a 40-acre family run farm.

Brad Catton works as a reforestation manager for the Astoria District of the Oregon State Forestry Department. That district is one of the stewards of the Clatsop state forest of about 136,000 acres. Catton represented himself to talk with pride why he loves the forest and share a glimpse into what called him into the world of forestry where he says in forestry “a typical day is never typical.”

Visual artist Lam Quang was born in Vietnam and came to America when he was a child because of his mother courage.  It was April, 1975 and Saigon had fallen to the North Vietnamese as American troops pulled out. Quang’s mom managed to get her family onto one of the last planes to leave Saigon in marking the “end” of the Vietnam War.  Now Lam Quang works as an artist who makes handmade paper into what he calls elegant lighting forms. His partner and wife run HiiH Lights, an artists’ studio that brings together the function of light, the craft of paper, and the art of sculpture.

The -Ism Storytellers project – a series of live events produced by MediaRites with support from Portland City Arts & Culture Access Fund and Ronni S. Lacroute 

The show theme is by Clark Salbury.We featured music by composer Joe Kye. Hear his music at Joe Kye dot org. This oral history audio program is made possible in part by the Oregon Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the America 250 Oregon Commission. This is a co-production of MediaRites and Oregon ArtsWatch. Find these stories and more at Oregon ArtsWatch at ORartswatch.org.

Featured guitar music by Clark Salisbury. Additional music by Joe Kye. https://joekye.com/

Featured music from Gabrielle Macrae and Barry Southern of The Horsenecks in Astoria, Oregon. Hear their music at:https://www.horsenecks.net/