The tattered old book sat in the middle of the vintage style stage, bursting with stories which would soon be told.  The photographs and art were in place, the musicians and story-tellers ready.  And then the Black Box in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter started to fill up.  There was a buzz in the air.  The city seemed hungry for hope.

‘Stories of Life’ is a series of events being hosted by Tell It In Colour - as we aim to communicate the hopeful side of life in Northern Ireland.  These events feature the songs of Ballymena singer song-writer Stewart McIlrath, who has penned an epic new album ‘Stories of Life’, based on stories from this very website (this album is available on I-Tunes)

“I guess I’m dreaming that more and more of these positive stories would begin to emerge and so this musical venture aims to reveal some of these stories through song; to pick out the colour from the grey,” Stewart explains.

It is these songs, combined with quirky photos, inspiring art pieces and oral storytelling which weave together at the ‘Stories of Life’ nights to express local stories of hope.  Musical support was also provided on the night by exciting new band Sons of Caliber.

But as for the stories, one which really seemed to grab the attention of the 130 strong crowd at the launch night was ‘The Other Side’; it’s a song based around Andrew’s story.  He’s a teenager who lives on a north Belfast interface, but defied the divide to be part of a group who gave out ‘gift bags’ to people in a community he usually feared.

Or then there was Janette’s story - she didn’t like the fact that the neighbours on her little east Belfast street didn’t know each other, so she decided to host a street party for them and new friendships have now formed.  A simple story with life-enhancing results.

Hilary McCann was one of those who attended the event and said she’d been really inspired through it:  “What stood out was just the passion of everyone who was involved, from the music to reading the stories.  I just loved being there.”

While Susie Alexander, who is part of the Tell It In Colour team, said she loves that “it gives beautiful, hopeful stories a stage and a voice that hasn’t been heard enough, until now.”

The next ‘Stories of Life’ event is happening on Friday 25th February in the ‘Tell It In Colour warehouse’ in Woodside Industrial Estate, Ballymena.  Why don’t you come and be a part of this Hope movement?

‘The colours in this town could be so bright.  Fighting may be on our doorsteps, love can be hard to find sometimes… We just got to look in the right places, cos there we will find the Stories of Life.’ (Stewart McIlrath ‘Stories of Life’)

**For more info on the upcoming events keep an eye on our Tell It In Colour  page on Facebook or search for ‘Stories of Life’.