‘From the original Indigenous peoples who honored oral histories to the Chautauqua that set the stage for the world-renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival to thrive, Ashland has always been a place where stories come alive.’
- Mark Yaconelli, world-renowned author/storyteller and longtime Ashland resident.
Our Mission
We are transforming Ashland into 'Storytown'—a dynamic, year-round destination that attracts new visitors and invigorates tourism. Our mission is to enrich Ashland's cultural landscape by curating an expansive calendar of events that resonate with both locals and visitors, driving economic growth and enhancing the community's vibrancy, expanding and diversifying our calendar of world-class storytelling experiences to include music, film, art, speaker series, comedy, food events, literary experiences, advertising, AI technology, and more.
The Storytown Calendar
We are developing a comprehensive, unified calendar that embodies Ashland's ‘storied’ heritage. Through our initiatives, we will continually add diverse events, ensuring that Ashland offers a constant array of engaging experiences. This intentional curation fosters collaboration among Ashland's cultural pillars, creating an environment where there's always something happening, inviting anyone who enters our city to write their own story.
The Storytown App and Live Streaming Content
To enhance engagement, we are creating an interactive Storytown Calendar App. This user-friendly platform will allow users to explore and interact with Ashland's events in real-time. By incorporating live streaming capabilities, we aim to amplify Ashland's creative spirit globally, reaching audiences beyond our geographic boundaries and generating new revenue streams through digital content.
Storytown ‘Originals’
ACEA is committed to producing original, world-class events that complement existing offerings and introduce fresh, exciting experiences to Ashland's cultural scene. These events will reflect our community's cultural roots while filling gaps in the annual calendar, ensuring a continuous celebration of storytelling in its many forms.
Storytown ‘Presents’
To broaden the scope and impact of Ashland's cultural offerings we seak collaborations by partnering with existing initiatives like Epic Ashland, to enhance tourism and stimulate economic growth, reinforcing Ashland's reputation as a premier destination for diverse storytelling experiences. Through these collaborations, ACEA positions itself as a catalyst for cultural enrichment and economic vitality, uniting the community in a shared mission to celebrate and promote the art of storytelling in all its dimensions..
