Rewrite the story. Use the simple present or present continuous to highlight some key moments. Use this and these to highlight important people, things, or events.
I remember one time my friend Linda had a party. It was for her graduation, I think, and we were all outdoors. Anyway, the weather was beautiful at first, but after an hour or so, some dark clouds started coming in, and it started to rain really hard. So she just turned on a radio, and we all started dancing in the rain. We had so much fun. It was the best party ever.