Heather Whaley
Heather is a seasoned, versatile performer with a vibrant personality and a unique voice.
She is known as a musician, singer-songwriter, and musical storyteller who brings traditional tales and her own stories to life by interspersing the narrative with rhyme, chant, and song and playing guitar and percussion instruments.
Heather tells stories, sings songs, and ballads for all ages. She connects well with preschool, kindergarten, elementary school, and youth, presenting interactive educational, cultural, and entertaining programs.
For over 30 years, Heather has been performing nationally and internationally, and currently prefers bookings with less travel, closer to home in Durham Region and east of the city.
Heather was a founder and former Artistic Director of Storytelling Toronto’s StoryFusion Cabaret! concert series and coordinated storytelling for Wychwood Barns’ annual “Boo at the Barns”.
She is a past board and conference committee member of Storytellers of Canada, serves on the StorySave Committee, is the SC-CC event calendar editor, producer/radio/podcast contributor, and is a former long-time executive member of Durham Storytellers.
Heather often initiates, coordinates, and partners with colleagues and organizations to bring qualitative programming to communities.
Whether visiting a public or private event, school, library, festival, daycare, on stage, or at house concerts, Heather includes participation, especially singing, to lift the heart and spirit of her audience! She thrives on reeling her audiences in to feel emotion, joy, togetherness, and belonging.
An amusing performer, she has performed at many venues in Durham Region, such as Parkwood Estates, Whitby Theatre, Saint Francis Centre for the Arts, Whitby Station Gallery, Robert McLaughlin Gallery, libraries, schools, senior centres, and pubs!
Her appearances have also included the Cottage Life show, Science Centre, Toronto Island, Storybook Gardens in London, Gladstone Hotel, Harbourfront Centre, Daniel’s Spectrum, and Hard Rock Cafe in Toronto; The FLAME at Cottage Bistro in Vancouver, and at the University of British Columbia Liar’s Contest (third place winner), as well as tours in Ontario, the Maritimes, California, South Carolina, and Buenos Aires.