Join Us in Santa Monica for StoryFest 2026
The Veterans Breakfast Club brings its mission to the national stage for the first time with StoryFest 2026, a three-day beachside event where veterans, families, writers, speakers, filmmakers, and other storytellers will come together to share stories of service across generations.
In February, we’ll gather in Santa Monica for conversations, performances, panels, and breakfasts that deepen understanding, bridge divides, and inspire through story.
We’ll tour the Battleship USS Iowa, hear from celebrated veteran authors, meet pioneers who broke the ground-combat barrier, and build community in the way the VBC does best—with a microphone, a room full of people, and stories no one else is telling.
This isn’t just a conference. It’s a community of listening. And you’re invited to be part of its very first year.
StoryFest 2026 is made possible through the generosity and partnership of Unlikely Collaborators, a Santa Monica–based foundation dedicated to using storytelling to bridge social divides and expand understanding between people with different lived experiences.
Unlikely Collaborators supports the Veterans Breakfast Club because of our shared belief in the power of honest, personal stories to bring people together. Their work centers on helping individuals see beyond assumptions and barriers that keep us disconnected. Our work centers on bridging the civilian–military divide by giving veterans a welcoming place to share their stories of service and homecoming.
Together, we’re creating StoryFest as a place where veterans, families, writers, artists, and the wider public can meet, listen, reflect, and build community, one story at a time.
StoryFest Highlights
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VBC Storytelling Breakfasts with local Los Angeles veterans
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Battleship USS Iowa storytelling breakfast on the fantail + ship tour
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Conversation with Le Ly Hayslip, Vietnamese-born author of When Heaven and Earth Changed Places
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Marine Corps Veterans Karl Marlantes and Elliot Ackerman in dialogue, two celebrated authors comparing their wars in Vietnam and Iraq and Afghanistan
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The Fight to Fight: The story behind the documentary film profiling the first women to integrate the U.S. Army Infantry and Armor Combat Units in 2016. The film is an act of service made by Naval Aviator Joy Bronson and retired Army colonel Ellen Haring.
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Interactive development workshop for Point & Shoot, a new immersive Marine Vietnam I Corps experience with neuroscientist and video storyteller Dan Panfili
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One-man performance by playwright Cody LeRoy Wilson
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Cocktail receptions, heavy hors d’oeuvres, and group dinner
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Beachfront lodging at the Shore Hotel on the Santa Monica coast
Pricing
Land Package Only (No Air): $1,450 per person (double occupancy)
Includes hotel, breakfasts, receptions, admissions, local transportation, tours, and all scheduled programming.
With Group Air from Pittsburgh: $1,850 per person (double occupancy)
Includes everything above plus round-trip nonstop air:
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AA 2268 – PIT → LAX (Feb 25, 8:35pm–11:19pm)
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AA 0814 – LAX → PIT (Mar 1, 9:07am-4:37pm)
Single Supplement: +$700
What’s Included
Accommodations
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Four nights at the Shore Hotel, Santa Monica
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Oceanview location steps from the beach and pier
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Pool, fitness center, courtyard spaces, and eco-friendly design
Meals Included
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Three VBC Storytelling Breakfasts
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Two cocktail receptions with heavy hors d’oeuvres
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One group dinner
Admissions & Programming
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Access to all StoryFest sessions, conversations, performances, and panels
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Battleship USS Iowa tour and presentations
Transportation
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Airport transfers for Group Air travelers
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Ground transportation to USS Iowa
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Local event shuttles as needed
Not Included
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Lunches
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Meals on arrival and departure days (Feb 25 & Mar 1)
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Optional activities during free time
DAY-BY-DAY SCHEDULE
DAY ONE — WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25 – Arrival Day
Arrival in Santa Monica
Guests arrive throughout the day and check in to the Shore Hotel, our beachfront home for the week. Enjoy the pool deck, ocean views, and the easy walk to the Santa Monica Pier.
Group Air from Pittsburgh
AA 2268 PIT → LAX
Departs 8:35pm • Arrives 11:19pm
Private transfer to hotel provided.
Evening on Your Own
Explore:
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Santa Monica Pier & Ferris wheel
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Beach sunsets & walking paths
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Third Street Promenade
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Oceanfront cafés and restaurants
All meals today are on your own.
DAY TWO — THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26 — Opening Day of StoryFest
8:30–10:30 AM – VBC Storytelling Breakfast
We kick off StoryFest the VBC way—with breakfast, a microphone, and a community of veterans, families, and friends. Half the room will be our traveling group; the other half will be Los Angeles–area veterans.
These breakfasts began in 2008 and remain the flagship of our mission: stories shared, connections made, laughter, a few tears, and a room transformed into a community.
10:30 AM–1:30 PM – Free Time
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Veteran interviews
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Hospitality suite
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Beach & pier explorations
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Lunch on your own
1:30–3:00 PM – POINT & SHOOT: Immersive Experience of Marines in I Corps Vietnam
Featuring neuroscientist Dan Panfili of DualPlex LLC
About Dan Panfili
Dan Panfili is a neuroscientist, full-stack developer, and founder of DualPlex LLC, specializing in psychophysics, cognitive science, virtual reality, photogrammetry, and biometrics. He trains teams in immersive technology and leads multidisciplinary research in next-generation simulation design. He is developing Point and Shoot, an immersive storytelling experience that reconstructs the lives of Marines in I Corps during the Vietnam War, guided by the photography and perspective of Marine combat photographer Ron Hathaway.
About This Session
Marines in the room—especially those with I Corps experience—are invited to contribute details of memory, terrain, sound, and emotion to help shape the project. This is a rare chance to participate in the creation of a new kind of historical experience.
3:00–5:00 PM – Free Time
Interviews, hospitality suite, and personal exploration.
5:00–6:30 PM – Cocktail and Heavy Hors D’oeuvres Reception
6:30–8:00 PM – LE LY HAYSLIP: AN EVENING OF STORY AND DIALOGUE
About Le Ly Hayslip
Le Ly Hayslip is the author of When Heaven and Earth Changed Places, the iconic memoir of her childhood in wartime Vietnam and her journey to the United States. Founder of the East Meets West Foundation, she has dedicated her life to healing, reconciliation, and cultural understanding. Her dialogue with Vietnam veterans and families is one of the most powerful intergenerational conversations we host.
DAY THREE — FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27 — Battleship Day
7:30 AM – Depart for San Pedro and the Battleship USS Iowa
8:30–10:30 AM – VBC Storytelling Breakfast on the Fantail
A storytelling event aboard one of America’s great warships, with Navy veterans—including former Iowa crew members—sharing sea stories on the ship’s open fantail with the Pacific breeze at our backs.
10:30 AM–12:30 PM – Guided Tour of the USS Iowa
A deep dive into the ship’s World War II, Korea, and Cold War service.
12:30 PM – Return to Santa Monica
Lunch on your own; free time until 3:00pm.
3:00–5:00 PM – THE FIGHT TO FIGHT: BREAKING THE BARRIER
Conversation with Colonel (Ret.) Dr. Ellen Haring and former Naval Aviator Joy Bronson, and two of the first women to train for infantry combat.
About Ellen Haring
Ellen Haring entered West Point in 1980 shortly after it opened to women. During her time there, women were not well received. In a 30-year career, Ellen achieved the rank of Colonel. However, women were still restricted from ground combat units. In 2012, Ell joined a suit against the Secretary of Defense for sex-based discrimination. In 2013, when the policy was removed, Ellen supported the first women who volunteered for ground combat units.
About Joy Bronson
Joy Bronson served as a Naval Aviator from 1986 to 1993. During her service, women were prevented from flying combat aircraft or serving on combat ships. On her first at-sea deployment aboard an oiler, Joy served as the only woman in the aircraft carrier battle group. Later she flew helicopters from an ammunition supply ship providing combat support to the fleet during the Persian Gulf War.
About This Session
This special conversation will explore:
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The fight to overturn the combat exclusion rule
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The lived experience of the first women in infantry and armor
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The cultural and institutional battles behind the policy
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Film insights and personal stories seldom heard in public
A short excerpt of The Fight to Fight will be shown.
5:30 PM – Cocktails & Group Dinner
Location to be announced.
DAY FOUR — SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28 — Stories, Conversation & Performance
8:30–10:30 AM – VBC Storytelling Breakfast
10:30 AM–3:00 PM – Free Time
Interviews, hospitality suite, lunch on your own, beach & city exploration.
3:00–4:30 PM – A MARINES’ DIALOGUE: KARL MARLANTES & ELLIOT ACKERMAN
About Karl Marlantes
Marine veteran and author of the acclaimed Vietnam War novel Matterhorn, Karl writes with rare depth about combat, trauma, leadership, and the search for meaning after war.
About Elliot Ackerman
A former Marine officer and National Book Award finalist, Elliot is best known for Green on Blue, a novel told from the perspective of an Afghan boy. His fiction and nonfiction explore the moral complexities of service in the post-9/11 era.
About This Session
Marlantes and Ackerman will interview each other—two Marines, two wars, two literary giants. Their dialogue will explore service, homecoming, trauma, healing, meaning, and the creative life. There is no conversation like this anywhere.
5:30–7:00 PM – Reception with Cocktails & Heavy Hors d’Oeuvres
7:00–8:00 PM – Did My Grandfather Kill My Grandfather? One-Man Play by Cody LeRoy Wilson
Followed by audience talk-back.
About Cody LeRoy Wilson
A playwright exploring legacy and service, Cody’s newest one-man performance adapts the wartime stories of his two grandfathers into a moving theatrical meditation on memory, masculinity, and generational echo.
DAY FIVE — SUNDAY, MARCH 1 – Depature Day
Group Air Departure
AA 0814 LAX → PIT
Departs 9:07am
All meals today are on your own.
