Judy Macuga Wandschneider

ENTERPRISE — The 11th season of Fishtrap Fireside kicks off Friday, Oct. 6 with three generations of storytellers: Katherine Marrone, Kenneth Hunt and Judy Macuga Wandschneider.

The gathering starts at 7 p.m. at Fishtrap, 107 W. Main St. Admission is free. The event will also be streamed at fishtrap.org and on Fishtrap’s YouTube channel.

Light snacks are provided and drinks are available for purchase.

October’s Fishtrap Fireside is sponsored by The Bookloft.

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Katherine Marrone is a writer, explorer and activist. For the past few years, she worked at Safe Harbors, Wallowa County’s domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking service agency. There, she focused on violence prevention, teen healthy relationship education, crisis response, and long-term support and healing.

During much of this time, she was also the editor of Fishtrap’s community art and writing zine “Circle of Seasons.” A former freelance journalist for feminist nonprofit Bitch Magazine, as well as a former writing workshop facilitator at a juvenile detention center and a college sex and relationships advice columnist, Marrone’s poems and essays “explore the power of noticing and the sparkle of the mundane, traveling alone as a woman, gender, sexuality, justice, connection, and her obsession with the questions: How do we human? How do we love? And how might we learn to do it all a little better?”

Kenneth Hunt said he left home early, “pursuing cultural sense, art and love. I’ve lived pretty rough at times and plenty fine at others. I found lots of love and some art with time, and am still very curious.”

Judy Macuga Wandschneider said she arrived at age 22, married to Rich Wandschneider, one of the founders of Fishtrap. Together they started The Bookloft and ran Pika Press.

She later earned a master’s in social work and worked for the state’s Children’s Services Division and the Wallowa County Juvenile Department where she started a Big Brother, Big Sister Program. She was also involved with the local domestic violence program and became a therapist for many years at the Wallowa Valley Center for Wellness, went to court to support abused children and worked as a hospice social worker.

“When Shannon McNerney became the Fishtrap director, she asked me to join the Fishtrap Board. I did and am honored to be so involved,” Wanschneider said. “Most recently, I took a class on oral storytelling, got the bug to take a Summer Fishtrap workshop with Luis Urrea and found myself wanting to write more. So here I am.”