Story Slam

If you like telling stories, hearing stories, or just fun in general, you will definitely want to check out Whitaker Center's Story Slam! New for 2019: this event series will be held at Federal Taphouse Harrisburg! As an added bonus, show your Story Slam tickets (or your Slam Pass) and save 20% on food purchases the day of the Slam!

A Story Slam is a great excuse for anyone 21+ to get on stage and tell the crowd one of their favorites. Each month has its own theme and own winners.

Tickets are on sale now! Get the best deal with our 2019 SLAM PASS - get a ticket to all 8 Story Slams of the season for only $58! Use the "Buy Tickets Now" button below to get yours!

Official Rules for the Harrisburg Story Slam:

• Storytellers register upon arrival. Names are drawn out of a shaker cup to decide who competes and order of presentation. About 10 – 12 storytellers can compete per night.
• Stories must fit into the theme of the night! See schedule below.
• Stories should be true as you remember it.
• Stories should be five minutes in length.
• No notes, no props, no music.
• Three judges from the community are selected in advance. Each storyteller receives a score on a scale of 1-10 for three different criteria: content, presentation, and adherence to the theme. The storyteller with the highest scores wins the night and is given a spot in November’s Grand Slam! 
• If you win once, we invite you to return and compete; you just won't be awarded points.
• This event is strictly 21 and over.
• Cost of ticket $10 at the door (cash only), $8 online in advance (choose will call when checking out). 
• Remember- street parking is free after 5PM in downtown Harrisburg!
• When signing up to tell a story, storytellers are asked to sign a release stating they are okay with having the story posted on YouTube. Storytellers retain all rights to their stories. Questions? Chat with us at the registration table or email us. 

2019 Story Slam Slam Pass - On Sale NOW!

We're selling Slam Passes again this year - get a ticket to every slam of the season and save the full cost of one ticket! Getyours with the "But Tickets Now" button below. 

2019 Story Slam Schedule (all begin at 7:30pm)

April 3 - That's Not My Job
From “other duties as assigned” to finding yourself utterly immersed in work you never expected to love, we’ve all got career paths we’re navigating. Some of us have developed a “work family” that rivals our own blood and some of us spend our free time applying for jobs that make us see greener grass in our sleep. Where do you fall? 

May 1 - I Can Explain!
Urban Dictionary says “I can explain!” is “a statement used when a situation becomes either undeniably irreversible or utterly impossible to explain due to temporary unfavorable circumstances”. Whether you’ve dropped this line to your mom or your significant other, we can’t wait to hear what you came up with. 

June 5 - A Chip Off the 'Ol Block
“You’re just like your dad.”
“Wow, you look like your mother.”
“You and your Aunt Gloria don’t get along because you’re the SAME PERSON.”
Whatever block you’ve been chipped off of, we’re sure you’ve got some stories about it.

July 10 - Let Me Tell You About My Best Friend 
Maybe you’ve known them since you were in kindergarten, maybe you met in college, maybe you met 6 months ago when you started that new gig, but please, tell us about your BFF, your ride-or-die, your best (or worst, we’ve all got ‘em) influence.

August 7 - A Brush With...
Did you have a brush with fame (and was it using your own brush as a microphone)? Or was your brush with death? Share your closest calls with us. 

August 28 - Can We Not?
Maybe it was a horrible idea from the get-go, maybe it was signing up for a half-marathon when the furthest you’d ran prior was from the couch the fridge, or maybe it was the breakup looming in the distance that you just weren’t ready for. What has had you begging the question: can we not?

October 2 -  How Did I Get Here?
Sometimes you wake up (either after a night of too much booze or after five years at the same boring job) and think: Where am I? What am I doing? How on Earth did I get here? We want to know about what you figured out.

November 7 - GRAND SLAM: Nemesis
Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door
We’ve all got ‘em – your frenemy, your arch-rival, your foe. Do you even know them? Or is your nemesis an inanimate object (the 1970’s copier still in the basement at work, your obsession with scrolling IG..)? Did you face-off? Were you the conqueror or the conquered (or are you still shaking your fist at them from a very safe distance)?

Check out these other slammin' story telling events in PA- West Chester Story Slam, York Story Slam, Untitled Harrisburg, Lehigh Valley Story Slam, Lancaster Story Slam. 

Tickets are required for both performers and spectators.This event is strictly 21+. Tickets are $8 in advance online (choose "will call" when checking out), $10 at the door (cash only). This event is generously hosted by Federal Taphouse Harrisburg. To get to Story Slam, enter Federal Taphouse Harrisbug and take a left up the stairs (feel free to come early and get something to eat first!).