COACHELLA VALLEY STORYTELLERS PROJECT STORIESKristin Scharkey tells her story | 14:13

Kristin Scharkey participates in the Coachella Valley Storyteller Project.

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Storyteller Kelly Keiser tells her story as part of the Coachella Valley Storyteller Project at the Palm Canyon Theater.

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Shay Moraga participates in the Coachella Valley Storyteller Project.

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Leslie Gonzalez participates in the Coachella Valley Storyteller Projectt.

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Leanna Rodgers participates in the Coachella Valley Storyteller Project.

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Lea Goodsell participates in the Coachella Valley Storytellers Project at the Palm Canyon Theater.

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Rosalie Murphy speaks at The Coachella Valley Storytellers Project's 'Change and reinvention' at the Coachella Valley Art Center on Tuesday, August 30.

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Emily Rapp Black speaks at The Coachella Valley Storytellers Project's 'Change and reinvention' at the Coachella Valley Art Center on Tuesday, August 30.

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Amy Whelan speaks at The Coachella Valley Storytellers Project's 'Change and reinvention' at the Coachella Valley Art Center on Tuesday, August 30.

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Francesca Amari speaks at The Coachella Valley Storytellers Project's 'Change and reinvention' at the Coachella Valley Art Center on Tuesday, August 30.

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Storyteller Kristi Rabe Marilyn Chung, The Desert Sun

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Storyteller Tod Goldberg Marilyn Chung, The Desert Sun

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Storyteller Gideon Cohn Marilyn Chung, The Desert Sun

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Storyteller Jacob Cantu shares his experiencing in finding and losing love during the Coachella Valley Storytellers event on "Matters of the Heart." Marilyn Chung/The Desert Sun

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Nathan Brown speaks at the Coachella Valley Storytellers 'And there I was' event at the Ace Hotel on Monday, March 21 2016

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Maggie Downs speaks at the Coachella Valley Storytellers 'And there I was' event at the Ace Hotel on Monday, March 21 2016

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Ruth Nolan speaks at the Coachella Valley Storytellers 'And there I was' event at the Ace Hotel on Monday, March 21 2016

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Storytellers Shad Powers and Xochitl Pea share the story of how they started becoming more than friends during the Coachella Valley Storytellers event on "Matters of the Heart." Marilyn Chung/The Desert Sun

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Storyteller David Kelly talks about his experience with love during the Coachella Valley Storytellers event on "Matters of the Heart." Marilyn Chung/The Desert Sun

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Kristin Scharkey tells her story

Kelly Keiser tells her story

Shay Moraga tells her story

Leslie Gonzalez tells her story

Leanna Rodgers tells her story

Lea Goodsell tells her story

Storytellers 'Change and reinvention': Rosalie Murphy

Storytellers 'Change and reinvention': Emily Rapp Black

Storytellers 'Change and reinvention': Amy Whelan

Storytellers 'Change and reinvention': Francesca Amari

Storyteller Kristi Rabe

Storyteller Tod Goldberg

Storyteller Gideon Cohn

Storyteller Jacob Cantu

Coachella Valley Storytellers 'And there I was': Nathan Brown

Coachella Valley Storytellers 'And there I was': Maggie Downs

Coachella Valley Storytellers 'And there I was': Ruth Nolan

Storytellers Shad and Xochitl

Storyteller David Kelly

05/24/16 Taya Gray, Special to The Desert Sun People clap after hearing Hann Carr share a first-person story during The Coachella Valley Storytellers Project at the La Quinta Museum in La Quinta on Tuesday, May 25, 2016. (Photo: Taya Gray/Special to The Desert Sun)

From a celebrity interview to finding a purpose, four tellers will pull back the curtain on their lives to share stories for the first Coachella Valley Storytellers Project eventof 2017 on Wednesday night.

The storytelling night, hosted by La Quinta Museum, is sold out, but there are three more storytelling nights in the works for the year. Tickets for the May event will go on sale April 3.

The Coachella Valley Storytellers Project coordinates nights of true stories, told live, in which artists, community leaders and everyday desert residents prepare a brief, first-person story on a theme, addressing it literally or metaphorically. The Desert Sun works in partnership with University of California Riverside Palm Desert's graduate school for creative writing and writing for the performing arts tocoach storytellers to help them share their meaningful, entertaining stories in spaces through all valley cities.

Becky Kurtz(Photo: Courtesy photo)

Becky Kurtzis the executive director of Desert Forum, Inc., the nonprofit that produces Desert Town Hall, a lecture series that in the 2017 season includes notables astronaut Scott Kelly, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, CNNs Paul Begala with FOXs Tucker Carlson and best-selling author Michael Lewis.

After seeing the first speaker in 1993, Russian journalist Vladimir Pozner, she was behind the scenes, first as a volunteer, then as marketing director before being named executive director.

She is also a member of The Desert Sun's editorial board.

A longtime desert resident, she moved to the Coachella Valley in 1986 from Superior, Wisc. She is married with two grown children and two grandchildren.

READ MORE:2017 is second year for Coachella Valley Storytellers Project

Daniela Franco(Photo: Submitted)

Daniela Franco is an editor at The Desert Sun, where she oversees the storytelling team in the newsroom. A former East Coast resident, she had never been to California before she moved to the Coachella Valley about four months ago.

Daniela moved to Massachusetts from Colombia when she was 15. She owns two Tom Brady jerseys and is still celebrating the Patriots Super Bowl win. She holds a bachelors degree in journalism, sociology and Latin American studies from New York University.

Andrew Schultz,a Nebraska-born Californian who considers himself 50 percent businessmanand 50 percentyogi, is a yoga enthusiast-turned-instructor with a passion for helping others in the most meaningful, healthy and positive ways.

Andrew teaches yoga at Power Yoga Palm Springs, Ace Hotel & Swim Club, schools, and different recovery centers throughout Coachella Valley for people battling addiction while also working full-time for Lululemon Athletica in Palm Desert.

Andrew Schultz(Photo: Courtesy pho)

Prior to moving to Palm Springs in April 2015, Andrew spent the past 14 years living in San Diego working alongside senior corporate executives and leaders at top global companies in the areas of conscious leadership and marketing, sustainability, corporate social accountability, nutritional leadership, strategic planning and international supply chain management.

In his personal time, Andrew helps sponsor other men in recovery and is very active in the recovery community both locally and across the country. He is also involved with organizations such as Whispering Winds, Silverage Yoga and the Betty Ford Center.

Lanelle Gradilla(Photo: Courtesy photo)

Lanelle Gradilla has been a stylist to many, is a mother of three and a wife to one. She's also a small business owner of Raw & Local, a juice and tonic delivery service. She has worked as an alchemist for Sea Chi Organics,a skin- and hair-care line made in Palm Springs.

When asked to provide a bio, she started to notice a theme in her work. From color-stained hands, to her juice-splattered apron she identifies with the "sweaty creative."

Attendees are encouraged to arrive early (doors open at 6:00 p.m.) and tour the museum before the storytelling begins at 6:30 p.m. The La Quinta Museum will have an exhibit, "Tell Me a Story: Women in the Arts," on display. Walk through a series of artwork by 95 artists who each took a uniformly-sized canvas to create a piece of art and accompanying written statement.

La Quinta Historical Society will host wine and beer for those 21+. (Note: The storytelling series is intended for an adult audience).

Insider perks:Subscribers have access to perks, extras and deals through The Desert Sun'sInsider program. Insiders will receive a Fairytale Brownie.

Interested in sharing your story? Potential tellers work with the storytelling project coaches to shape their true, first-person story around selected themes. Future themes include: "It seemed like a good idea at the time (May 3)," "Close encounters(August)," or "Family(November)."

Each teller receives a minimum of three hours of training to develop their stories. Tellers begin working with the project coaches about two months before the event, but you may send an email for any of the themes at any anytime the earlier the better. Send an email to sarah.day.owen@desertsun.com to get started.

Past events podcasts:Subscribe, listen to our podcast on iTunes

The series is dedicated to the idea that oral storytelling and journalism have the same goals: serving, reflecting and connecting a community while fostering empathy among those people. These nights blend the authenticity and hype-free discipline of storytelling as an art form with the truthfulness, community-building and empowerment that's at the heart of great journalism.

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Here's who will share a personal tale of 'Behind the scenes' at Coachella Valley Storytellers Project - The Desert Sun