Guild Members

Meet the Guelph Guild of Storytellers (GGS) members.  Each delights in being a storyteller in their own right, in addition to working within GGS collaborating to plan, shape, and organize events and commit to contributing their own stories. We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with two of Guelph's institutions: The Guelph Enabling Garden and The Guelph Civic Museum. 

We also welcome Friends of GGS, who typically start as avid listeners and come on board to help with tasks such as setting up and serving snacks.

Beve Matson

Beve Matson

Beverly enjoys telling personal stories and adopting folktales. She loves the connections that storytelling creates with an audience.  "One story leads to another, and I'm drawn to the ways that stories touch the heart."  She is a retired teacher/librarian where she became renowed  as a...

→ Read More

Brian Holstein

Brian Holstein

Brian Holstein was born on a dairy farm in rural Australia where he began his teaching career before setting off to see the world. His first and only stop was Brampton, Ontario, where he taught until his retirement.  Moving to Guelph in 1999, he became...

→ Read More

Don Conibear

Don Conibear

As a young boy, it was on his Grandfather’s knee, as he spun tales of his adventures in Canada’s far north, that Don was first exposed to the art and magic of story telling.  Along with the mini-dramas of daily life, a career in law...

→ Read More

Ellen Webb

Ellen Webb

Ellen wears many hats ranging from puppeteer to face painter to actor to storyteller, at times successfully incorporating one or all of these skills into one entertaining package. Ellen is generous to a fault, sharing in a number of ways and settings including schools, senior...

→ Read More

Larry Gibbs

Larry Gibbs

Larry is new to “public” storytelling but has been telling stories all his life, one way or another.  Nicknamed 'Gramophone Gibbs' by his Dad, who claimed Larry had been vaccinated with a gramophone needle, he is no stranger to public speaking.  Often asked to MC...

→ Read More

Michael (Rusty) Dougherty

Michael (Rusty) Dougherty

Michael is born of The Irish, raised in Montreal, schooled in Montreal, Toronto and Edmonton.  A proud father of the two most intelligent, independent and coolest daughters on earth. Grandfather to 5 ever changing challenging and easily spoiled gremlins. Rusty plays a Bodhran, guitar and has been known...

→ Read More

Susan McBride

Susan McBride

Susan was born in Windsor ON, into an Irish Family, great yarn spinners. Susan was #4 of 6 children and not sure if that's significant, but she inherited the story bug in spades. Not surprising that the study of English Literature drew her to U...

→ Read More

Sya VanGeest

Sya VanGeest

Sya is an avid, veteran storyteller comfortable telling to all ages. She's a regular volunteer in schools, children's groups, senior homes, church groups, and special events, and a teacher of the craft of storytelling.* She is an experienced educator with over thirty years as a classroom...

→ Read More