The Good City Stories Project

Led by Faye Lane, Artist-in-Residence & Chief Inspiration Officer

The Good City Stories Project invites Dallas to slow down, gather, and remember what it means to belong.

Led by acclaimed storyteller Faye Lane, this initiative transforms storytelling into something essential—a living, breathing form of civic connection. Raised in a Texas beauty salon where stories were currency and community, Faye has carried that same spirit to national stages and public radio. Now, her work turns toward the life of a city: helping people see one another with honesty, humor, and heart.

At Thanksgiving Square, diverse groups of Dallas residents come together in guided storytelling circles. No phones. No distractions. Just people—neighbors, strangers, fellow citizens—sharing real moments from their lives.

These are not performances. They are moments of truth.

Through themes like courage, integrity, presence, and compassion, participants tell the stories that shape who they are. And in listening, something shifts. Differences soften. Recognition grows. The distance between “us” and “them” begins to dissolve.

In a world overflowing with information yet starving for connection, storytelling becomes a quiet act of resistance—and renewal. It builds empathy, strengthens trust, and reminds us that beneath every label is a human life not so different from our own.

This is not about creating a perfect city.
It’s about revealing the goodness already here—and growing it.

One circle at a time.

About Faye Lane

Faye Lane is a Texas-born, New York–based writer, performer, and two-time bi-coastal Moth Story Slam Winner whose work has captivated audiences across the country and internationally. Her acclaimed one-woman show Beauty Shop Stories—inspired by her childhood in her mother’s salon—has earned top honors including the New York International Fringe Festival’s Overall Excellence Award, the Bistro Award, and the MAC Award. Her stories have been featured on NPR and The Moth Radio Hour, and she is a contributor to the New York Times best-selling anthology The Moth: Fifty True Stories. Across every stage and setting, Faye’s work is rooted in one enduring belief: when people tell the truth about their lives, connection becomes not only possible—but inevitable.