Zoe Levenstien has eagerly awaited Historic Philadelphia’s annual “Once Upon a Nation” storytelling benches since she was four — and now, at 17, she is the program’s youngest storyteller, writes Peter Crimmins for WHYY.
“Every summer, from probably 4 years old and on, my family would come down and do the benches,” she said. “We would do all the benches at least once a summer, sometimes twice or three times.”
Levenstien, of Fairmount, is stationed outside Carpenters’ Hall in a beige polo uniform, inviting passersby to hear a story from the city’s history.
She can choose from one of three tales: a secret 1775 meeting between Benjamin Franklin and a French spy at Carpenters’ Hall, the escape of an enslaved woman from North Carolina to freedom in Philadelphia, or the nation’s first bank robbery, which also took place at Carpenters’ Hall.
As a “Once Upon a Nation” performer, she does not portray a historic figure but instead tells their stories. The program, unique to Philadelphia, is now 20 years old and has an archive of around 250 prepared narratives.
Read more about Zoe Levenstien and how she’s living her dream this summer at WHYY.
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