A Day Retreat on Ellis Island:
Ancestral Storytelling Workshop & Site Tour
HISTORIC ELLIS ISLAND HOSPITAL COMPLEX & OLD FERRY BUILDING
Saturday, september 9 (10 AM – 3:30PM)
when:
WHERE:
As we navigate a changing world and explore our place within it, the stories of our ancestors may help us understand where we came from and where we want to go next.
For some, those stories are told generously from one generation to the next. For others, there might be gaps of information or a sense of disconnect. Most of us have lots and lots of questions.
This half-day immersive experience is for anyone who wants to connect more deeply with their family history through writing and historical knowledge.
Starting with a Writing Workshop in the Old Ferry Building, and followed by a tour of the unrestored Ellis Island Hospital Complex, you'll spend an afternoon learning more about your own family history and the history of immigration in the United States more widely.
You'll leave the island with a wealth of knowledge about American immigration and the beginning of a creative writing piece about your own experience with ancestry.
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Who we are today is deeply rooted in who came before us.
installation by French artist Jr,
photo copyright, emory roth II, 2016
About the Experience
Part 1
The Workshop
This writing workshop, held in the Old Ferry Building on Ellis Island, is designed to help you investigate an ancestor you want to know more about and to explore your own story as a descendent of that person.
We’ll use journaling techniques and writing prompts to help you identify what you know — perhaps through passed-down stories or family heirlooms — and what you want to know. Where might there be gaps in information? What questions do you have? What is it like to be the one telling this story today?
At the end of the afternoon, you'll come away with a "spark piece": a page or two of creative writing that you could choose to expand on after the workshop is over.
No formal writing experience necessary! We'll guide you through the process step by step, using prompts, check-ins, and group discussion.
photo: the old ferry building, post-restoration
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The Hard Hat Tour
Part 2
After the workshop, you'll be taken on a tour of the historic, unrestored Ellis Island Hospital Complex, which until now, has been closed for over 60 years. This 90-minute tour takes you through select buildings and through the grounds of the hospital.
the story behind the hospital complex
Contagion sometimes found a home in the crowded third-class sections of ocean liners, with new immigrants arriving on Ellis Island with measles, tuberculosis, influenza, and a variety of other ailments. Others left their ports of departure with any number of health or medical conditions ranging from pregnancy to injuries to mental illness.
Anyone identified by the medical inspectors as "unhealthy" upon arrival would not be allowed to enter the country and would find themselves in the Hospital Complex. Here they were cared for in what was, in its day, a state-of-the-art facility.
A sense of sorrow and redemption is evoked in the remarkable images pasted in the rooms and hallways, part of the current exhibit by French artist JR, titled Unframed—Ellis Island.
The images draw visitors into a world that no longer exists. Rooms filled with quiet anticipation, broken windows, and half-open walls capture the stories of the Ellis Island Hospital, and the 1.2 million immigrants treated there.
photo courtesy of save ellis island
PLEASE NOTE
Per Ellis Island requirements, no children under 13 may attend this retreat.
Additionally, as this event will take place in an unrestored building, it is unfortunately not wheelchair accessible. Walkers and scooters are also not permitted on or near the site.
We encourage you to reach out to either Sophie or Neva if you want to be notified of any future writing workshops of this nature that are accessible.
The Agenda
12:30 PM – 12:45 PM
We'll meet you at the Museum Info Desk to take you to the Old Ferry Building
1 PM – 2 PM
Writing Workshop on Ancestral Storytelling led by Neva and Sophie
2 PM–3:30 PM
Hard Hat Tour of Historic Ellis Island Hospital Complex
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photo courtesy of save ellis island
10 AM – 12 PM
Arrive at Ferry Security and board the ferry to Ellis Island
3:45 PM
Take ferry back to either Manhattan or Jersey City (unless you want to stay longer on the island!)
**Don't forget to purchase your ferry tickets in advance.
Getting There
Ferries are operated by Statue Island Cruises. They leave from two locations: Battery Park at the southernmost tip of Manhattan, and Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey.
The ferry ticket includes transportation to both Liberty and Ellis Island as well as a return trip back to your original departure point. There is no need to purchase a second ticket!
Ferry tickets for Ancestral Storytelling are sold separately from the workshop and tour.
WHEN PURCHASING YOUR FERRY TICKET, PLEASE BE SURE TO BUY THE GENERAL ADMISSION TICKET, NOT THE HARD HAT TOUR TICKET.
Your Hard Hat Tour is included with the Writing Workshop, so you only need to buy the general ferry ticket.
purchase ferry tickets
To get to Ellis Island, you'll take a ferry through new york harbor
A NOTE ON TIMING
When choosing your ferry time, this is your entry into the Security Facility and not the Workshop start time on Ellis Island. The wait time for the ferry can be several hours, particularly during peak season including summer, weekends, and holidays.
We recommend choosing the 10AM security entry to make a 12:30 start time on Ellis Island. If you arrive to the island earlier than the tour, take that time to explore the museum, grab some food, or walk the gorgeous grounds!
Be sure to purchase your tickets in advance to guarantee your ferry time slot.
Investment
where your money is going:
cost for the whole day:
$90
This includes both the Writing Workshop and Hard Hat Tour.
*Ferry tickets are sold separately.
$35 of your ticket cost will go to your facilitators to pay them for their time.
$55 of your ticket cost will go to Save Ellis Island, the organization that runs the Hard Hat Tours. Save Ellis Island is a nonprofit dedicated to restoring the Ellis Island landmarks, so folks from all over the world can continue to learn about its history.
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Meet Your Facilitators
Sophie Cannata-Bowman
Sophie is a book editor and writing coach, helping independent and self-publishing authors develop their stories into impactful, resonant books. Sophie believes every author deserves the space to tell their story, as well as the freedom to have a messy and explorative creative process.
Drawing from her background in theatre publishing, Sophie brings the tenets of theatre rehearsal into the writing and editing process, encouraging authors to embrace experimentation and play as they shape the work. With over five years of experience as a professional editor and over a decade of experience as a produced playwright, Sophie helps authors find joy in their process while crafting polished and powerful work.
Neva Talladen
Neva is an editor and writer with more than 10 years of training and experience in freelance editing, media, and business. A former Chief Strategist for startups, she has returned to her creative writing roots and specializes in big-picture and developmental editing to help nonfiction writers, creators, and leaders get their books “from dream to done.”
Inspired by the African proverb, “The story of the lion will never be known if the hunter is the one to tell it” she founded her solo business, Otherwordy Editing, to champion "other" (underrepresented) stories and to advocate for conscious language as a part of the modern publishing standard.
She works with writers and businesses globally and has collaborated with publishers such as Wiley and Sunday Dinner Publishing. Neva is also the Managing Editor for the literary journal and podcast, Talking Writing.
https://otherwordy.com | neva@otherwordy.com
www.sophiacbowman.com | sophiecb.editor@gmail.com
SOPHIA CANNATA-BOWMAN, 2023. | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS OF USE