Thursday, September 3, 2026

Altadena Native Opens the Mic Friday for a Night of the Town’s Own Stories

Altadena residents will spend Friday evening telling one another what they remember about their town, at a free three-hour gathering of storytelling, music and poetry at the building the community’s recovery organizations share.

The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, at the Collaboratory, 540 W. Woodbury Road in Altadena, with the formal program beginning about 6:30 p.m. It is hosted by Nahshon Dion, the Altadena-born writer and emerging filmmaker who has spent the period since the Eaton Fire gathering firsthand accounts from residents, artists, historians, elected officials and community workers for an anthology titled “Our Beloved Altadena: Voices from the Aftermath of the Eaton Canyon Wildfire.”

The program includes storytelling, music, singing, poetry and an open mic, along with desserts and recognition of people with September birthdays, organizers said. There is no admission charge. The Department of Angels and Altadena Rising are named as supporters, organizers said.

Dion is also producing a documentary and writing a memoir, both titled “My Beloved Altadena.” Writing in an opinion essay published Jan. 22, he described the anthology as “more than a book; it is a strategy for collective healing.” In an interview published Jan. 7, he said of the work, “This is how I help.”

The gathering follows “Under the Stars: Voices of Resilience and Hope Uplifting Our Beloved Altadena,” which Dion hosted at the Altadena Library in January.

The Collaboratory houses the Eaton Fire Collaborative, its Long-Term Recovery Group, the Community Recovery Group and the Leadership Council, and Altadena Rising is among the organizations onsite. “We are survivors helping survivors,” Bree Jensen, then the collaborative’s vice chair, said at the building’s opening in October 2025.

The anthology remains in progress. In an essay published Jan. 28, 2025, Dion wrote of Altadena’s memories: “Thankfully, those memories are fireproof.”

Need to know: An evening of storytelling, music, singing, poetry and an open mic centered on memories of Altadena, hosted by Nahshon Dion, runs Friday, Sept. 4, from 6 to 9 p.m., with the formal program beginning about 6:30 p.m., at the Collaboratory, 540 W. Woodbury Road, Altadena, CA 91001. There is no admission charge. Desserts will be served, and the program recognizes people with September birthdays. The Department of Angels and Altadena Rising are named as supporters, organizers said. For more, visit altadenacalendar.org or eatonfirecollaborative.org.