Photo Flash: THE MOTH Pops Up at Harlem Week

Storytelling nonprofit The Moth - the force behind the Peabody Award-winning public radio show, The Moth Radio Hour, and the ultra-popular eponymous podcast, which is downloaded 70 million times a year - hosted The Moth Pop-Up Story Pitch Event on Saturday, August 17th as part of Harlem Week's "Summer in the City" celebration.

Throughout the day, 400+ attendees-from high schoolers to senior citizens-stopped by The Moth's first-ever pop-up pitch event, learning more about the organization and experiencing the community-building power of storytelling.

While on site, approximately 30+ people sat with members of The Moth's artistic team for one-on-one story coaching sessions. They shared moving personal stories from discovering surprising family secrets; learning to love after a divorce; to managing the aftermath of losing a job; and more. Several were recorded live for further development.

All Harlem Week attendees were encouraged to pitch their story ideas to The Moth's Pitch Line and to attend one of the organization's StorySLAMs --- The Moth's signature open mic competitions held in 30 cities in the U.S. and abroad. This September, The Moth will host a special StorySLAM in Harlem (date and location to be confirmed) to hear more local voices and experiences.

"Elevating stories from people of all backgrounds is essential to The Moth's mission, and Harlem was the ideal place to hold our first pop-up because of the local community's rich heritage," says Sarah Haberman, the organization's Executive Director. "Our event at Harlem Week was an enormous success-one for the storybooks-filled with incredible people and equally wonderful stories. We are excited to return to Harlem this fall with our StorySLAM."

Photo Credit: Jennifer Birmingham for The Moth