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Photo from Unassuming Collective’s interview with Lenford at the Long Beach Rescue Mission. Photo courtesy of Unassuming Collective.

Unassuming Collective, a Long Beach-based podcast highlighting the stories of local residents, will open up the stage to those wanting to share their experiences on Saturday, July 22 at Fox Coffeehouse.

The concept for the upcoming open mic was inspired by The Moth, a New York City-based nonprofit founded in 1997 to promote the art and craft of storytelling and to celebrate the commonalities of human experience.

“Stories of people’s lives are so important—they hold so much value—and we’ve made it our job to capture these stories before they are forever untold,” Mariah Padilla, creator and host of Unassuming Collective, said in a statement. “We don’t want anyone to feel like their voice isn’t being heard. Some experiences are just living inside of us burning a hole in our hearts and sometimes we just need the opportunity to set them free.”

With the open mic, as well as the podcast, Unassuming Collective aims to “provide Long Beach with its own version of The Moth” and to strengthen the sense of community that exists in Long Beach by providing the community a safe space to tell intimate stories. All are welcome to take the stage.

The kick off open mic for this storytelling event will take place from 5:00PM to 8:00PM. Storytellers will be given a prompt that will be shared in advance on social media. Stories will also be recorded live and posted on the podcast following the event. Donations will be accepted at the door. Guidelines will be explained the night of the event.

Learn more about Unassuming Collective via the website here, Facebook page here and Instagram @unassumingcollective.

Fox Coffeehouse is located at 437 West Willow Street.

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Asia Morris is a Long Beach native covering arts and culture for the Long Beach Post. You can reach her @hugelandmass on Twitter and Instagram and at [email protected].