Karen Haas enjoys both telling in "modern times" and bringing the past to life with living history presentations.  Her effervescent style engages emotions, from the sublime to the ridiculous, in audiences both young and old.  Always enjoying new challenges, she has presented at such "usual" places as libraries, bookstores, schools, senior centers, and churches; as well as "exotic" sites such as 1850s fur trade and Pig War historic re-enactments, a Medieval wedding reception, and ghostly bonfires.

An experienced Teacher and Museum Curator of Education, Karen is on Humanities Washington’s Inquiring Minds speakers list and was the recipient of the Association of King County Historical Organization’s 2005 Heritage Education Award.  She is active in re-enactments at Northwest historic sites such as Fort Nisqually, Fort Steilacoom, and San Juan Islands National Historic Park.  Her living history presentations have been featured at Fort Clatsop and Whitman Mission National Historic Site.  She feels especially rewarded telling the tales of those whose voices are usually silent in history – the women.

"Has guitar, will travel," Karen draws on her experiences as a K-12 music educator as she incorporates music and sing-alongs into many of her presentations.  She enjoys presenting to classrooms and assemblies and will provide EALRs upon request.  An accomplished accompanist, Karen is the pianist for Metropolitan Ballet of Tacoma and Swing Shift Contra Dance Band.

Karen's desire to help revitalize the art of storytelling has led her to conduct workshops for beginning storytellers and on "Telling Your Family Tales."  She firmly believes that our stories  tell who we are, where we've come from, and where we're going.  Her stories, both traditional and new, may bring laughter, tears, shivers, or a deep thought or two, but will always entertain.