Everyone has a story to tell.

        That's what Fray Day is all about. This year for the first time, Cincinnati will be taking part in this global storytelling festival held in nine other cities worldwide. The free event will be Saturday at the Southgate House.

        “Fray Day is about bringing people together,” says founder Derek Powazek. “Personal stories are the thread that connects everyone.”

Helmes

Kissing

        Fray Day began in 1996, when Mr. Powazek, a California Web designer, established Fray, a Web-based organization dedicated to providing outlets for sharing true stories. Writers submit stories and Mr. Powazek chooses one a month to publish on his Web site, www.fray.com.

        In April, Cincinnati writer Mary T. Helmes submitted “Real” about her encounter with New Age guitarist Michael Hedges. Mr. Powazek chose it for his site. (Read it at www.fray.com/hope/real/).

        That same month, Mr. Powazek was expanding the fifth-annual Fray Day, so he turned to his Web-published storytellers for assistance.

        Ms. Helmes decided to take on organizing a local Fray Day. She felt strongly about the race riots and believed this event would be a great outlet for self-expression. Fray's theme of coming together to connect people appealed to Ms. Helmes.

        She called upon a fellow writer, Steve Kissing, for help. Mr. Kissing also felt strongly about creating this opportunity for healing in Cincinnati.

IF YOU GO

When: 7 p.m. Saturday     Where: Southgate House, 24 E. Third St., Newport     Admission: Free     Information: (859) 363-8036; online at www.fray.org, www.fray.com; www.fray.net

        “We need more of these types of things in town, but this is a step in the right direction,” he says.
       

Special setting

        Their first task: find a place for it.

        “The venue had to be right,” Ms. Helmes says. “It couldn't be too loud or too big. (The Southgate House) really supports spoken word events and were enthusiastic from the beginning.”

        Although organizers will solicit donations to cover the costs involved, any additional proceeds will be returned to the Fray organization to help cover costs of Fray Day in other cities: San Francisco; Melbourne, Australia; Kyoto, Japan; Los Angeles, Boston and five other U.S. cities.

        Following the traditional Fray Day format, the local event will feature a musical performance, scheduled storytellers and an open mic.

        Ms. Helmes chose off-the-wall rock band Trilobite Agenda to kick off the evening. The group is headed by accordion-toting University of Cincinnati student Scott Hand; its influences include They Might Be Giants and early Violent Femmes.

        Writers, including Ms. Helmes and Mr. Kissing, will share their own stories at 8 p.m., followed by the open mic at 9 p.m.

        Storytellers will be given a five-minute limit (roughly 1,000 words), although organizers are striving to keep this event true to the original intent of Fray Day by creating an open and accepting atmosphere.

        “I understand how much one might want to participate,” Ms. Helmes says, “but fear of rejection or ridicule — I know it's not easy. But this is not a competition, it's telling stories around the dinner table.”

        The organizers stress that these first-person experiences don't have to be tragic. They can be funny, sad, silly, profound — anything that had an impact on the storytellers' lives.

        “Anyone can take the stage as long as the stories are true and personal, their telling is enthusiastic and they take less than five minutes,” Mr. Powazek says.

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