Bria Light grew up romping around the woods near Eugene, Oregon before studying Romance Languages and Latin America at the University of Oregon. Upon graduation, she did the only sensible thing a restless recent college grad could do and turned down a job in her field to move to Telluride to be a ski bum. In the decade since, she's dedicated most of her time working in outdoor and experiential education leading groups of young people on educational programs throughout Latin America, India, the South Pacific, and North Africa. She believes stories are the building blocks of the universe, creativity gives one wings, and that there is nothing quite so blissful as a street taco in Mexico.
Bria was awarded one of the first Telluride Arts' Flash Grants to help fund Telluride Tiny Adventures. This project is a new non-fiction community storytelling platform, with the idea to make engaging, creative storytelling as accessible as possible for anyone in our community.
The Telluride Tiny Adventures project was inspired by the New York Times Tiny Love Stories, which are reader-submitted stories based on the theme of love (any kind of love) in 100 words or less. Bria thought our creative, adventurous, articulate, story-loving community could really enjoy participating in a similar story-telling platform, whether through simply listening to them on the radio, or writing and submitting one.
How it works: anyone in the community can write their "tiny adventure" story in 150 words or less, based on the theme "Life, love, and the great outdoors." Stories must be real from the writer's own life, and can truly be about any moment or experience. They then submit their story through the website, and all submissions will be reviewed. Stories chosen ( most of them will be!) will then be recorded and aired on Fridays after the news on KOTO. Submit your Telluride Tiny Adventure HERE.
We Asked Bria a Few Questions:
What are you watching?
Tiger King. I had to jump on the bandwagon to see what the hype was all about. And wow. People are CRAZY.
What are you reading?
The Overstory by Richard Powers
What are you listening to?
Recently listened to Dolly Parton's America, a podcast by Radiolab host Jad Abumrad. So good. You don't even need to be a Dolly Parton fan or know anything about her to be wowed by the storytelling.
What projects are you working on?
I received a Telluride Arts Flash Grant for my project Telluride Tiny Adventures! Head over to HERE to submit your story!
What has changed for you?
I very rarely put on so-called "real clothes" anymore. Also - It has made me so aware of all the things in my life I have to be grateful for - my household, my health, access to our beautiful backyard, and TIME! And thank you, Telluride Arts, for the Flash Grant to help get the Telluride Tiny Adventures project out into our community!