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st people weekend junj17 1995 3 hardys life story written with help of game by bruce stapley correspondent kathy hardy has a story for everyone who believes in enduring family ties and the telling of old- fashioned tales the stouffville mother of two is the canadian distributor of lifestories a board game where players of all ages take turns relating anecdotes ranging from childhood experiences through future dreams fashioned loosely after the uni versally popular trivial pursuits game lifestories was created in 1992 by a minnesota man bent on altering his own familys stilted conversation patterns players roll a die and draw cards from four dif ferent categories depending upon where their game piece lands the categories include memories etch ings influences valuables things of note and alternatives which give players a chance to perform a simple task if they choose not to respond to a card drawn questions cover a wide range of personal and family history a player might be asked to suggest a word or phrase which describes his or her fathers personality to tell about a place where they grew up to explain what a perfect weekend would consist of for them or to tell of a notable letter they once received the game is noncompetitive all players eventually land on the grand celebration at which point the other players offer a positive anecdote about that person the concept has proved success ful in the united states with over 100000 copies sold and a parents choice award it was after hardy purchased one for her family that she became personally convinced of the universal appeal of the game my family loved it even my dad and hes a cynic said hardy once you start the stories flow but more than stories the game encourages communication at its best such was her enthusiasm that she decided last year to set up her own company the giving tree and distribute lifestories in canada she succeeded in convincing the active minds and moyers chains to carry the game across the coun try it is also carried by the green gables book store in markham the game has been written up in family publications such as parent to parent and tree house family and was featured on classicoms golden opportunities show hardy reports the game has experienced modest success in less than a year in this country to date 400 copies have been sold depleting her initial inventory her full time job in customer sup port and sales for an internet soft ware developer along with parental duties restrict the time available to promote the game i havent been marketing it all that much lately my goal was just to get it in the stores and get it passed around everyone who sees it loves it its just a matter of get ting it known out there she said the game has received rave reviews from a wide variety of social groups as well as families tongue twister orchard park student chad kerswill talks animatedly with his friends brad clubine and davey wilson at the public school track meet at sdss last week photoftteve soembville and that the applications go beyond simple fun friends new acquain tances couples church groups schools all benefit by the telling and hearing of the lives of others it has also been a valuable thera peutic tool for use with self- help groups drug addiciton centres troubled teens and nursing homes hardy said she never intended forlifestories to serve as a ticket to personal wealth rather she simply wanted to make available to others something that has become such a source of pleasure for her own family im not get ting rich on it that wasnt the idea but i really believed in it and my kids would rather hear my sto ries than any stories i read them from a book the game of life meghan and michael hardy play lifestories with their mom and local game distributor kathy photokteve somebville eric nagler appearing at school from page 1 munity and into the schools project asap artists do not charge a set fee but work on a percentage of gross sales enabling organizations to cover costs or raise funds for local initiatives when most of us like sharon lois and brain and even raffi started out we began by working in the schools during school hours nagler observed most of the money that we were being paid was through the government in one form or another and that money has dried up as a result of cut backs children would no longer have the opportunity to enjoy live performances and entertainers would not have a forum in which to hone their skills he said it seems a shame to me because children interact and perform naturally in a live situ ation but because of the way our culture is set up that tends to nagler atrophy since its inception project asap has raised tens of thousands of dollars for school arts programs throughout ontario while providing excellent family entertainment for the communities involved for the first time in 10 years nagler will not be working on television shows this summer we made erics world for five years and before that we worked on the elephant show for five years he said weve made 65 shows of erics world and thats the number at which we should be selling it to a large audience such as the states so were not planning to make any more unless and until we make a sale nagler will make the most of his time off from television to perform at festivals and to work on a new cd rom project he is devel oping audience participa tion is a nagler trademark and tuesdays concert will be no exception everyone is invited to get into the act by bringing homemade instruments and spoons and joining in the fun tickets for the con- cert are 9 each and are available from the childrens house the concert begins at 630 pm tuesday june 20 at summitview public school for more information call shari litman at 6402905 kate gilderdale watch for these flyers on saturday june 17 1995 ultra mart biway loblaws fortinos ap stouffville iga sobeys newmarket dominion loblaws selected areas only were first in distribution weve delivered 17463842 flyers door-to- door so far this year if you would like your flyers delivered by the best please call arlene maddock at 6402100 the tribune attention flyer advertisers we can deliver your llyers lor as wile as 3 5 cents apiece in markham unonvijie maken sloutmle imwdge claremom dickson hill locust ha gormtey goodwood victoria square brougham haoerman comers 801 grove cedar grove bunonvfle sanotord leaskdale greenbank udora sunderland zephyr ashoum cannington and al adjacent rural route areas we can deliver your llyers using the most up to date market demographics including census tract lifestyles fsa neighbourhoods etc call us to discuss your needs we can deliver on the day you warn to the area you want any quantity up to 50150 for distribution inqulrlos call stouffville 90s 6402100 or fax 90s 6403477