Storytelling Festival features ghost tales and more.
The Storytelling Festival has been canceled due to the devastation created by recent storms. Visit www.storytellingcenter.net for details.
Tickets are on sale for the National Storytelling Festival, Oct. 4-6, in Jonesborough, Tennessee. Each year the event brings world-class performers and some 10,000 visitors to Tennessee’s oldest town.
The festival’s programming features more than two dozen storytellers who perform on stages under big-top tents scattered across downtown Jonesborough. The performers showcase traditional tales, folklore, myths, personal stories, music and more.
Founded and produced by the International Storytelling Center, the festival was the first event of its kind when it launched in 1973. While it has grown and evolved over the ensuing decades, the festival has remained the industry’s premier storytelling event.
ISC offers a range of festival ticketing options, including standalone events, day passes and weekend passes. Core programming runs 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, with passholders welcome to come and go as they please.
As always, this year’s lineup of featured storytellers includes a lively mix of long-time listener favorites, exciting new voices and distinguished international artists. Veteran performers include Sheila Arnold, who tells folk tales and personal stories; Dovie Thomason, who focuses on Native American culture and tradition; Alton Chung, who specializes in historical stories and folk tales from Hawaii and Japan; and Donald Davis, who is known for his humor and personal stories.
“A lot of people are surprised to learn that storytelling encompasses so many different oral traditions,” says Susan O’Connor, ISC’s director of programs. “Our goal is to showcase as many as possible. Stories are living traditions, not relics of the past, and all the different textures and tones give each festival its distinct character. As much as everyone treasures our custom of coming together for storytelling every October, I think we also look forward to that special spark that makes every year different.”
For locals and travelers who are available in the days leading up to the festival, there are concerts and workshops scheduled earlier in the week. Donald Davis offers a concert Wednesday, Oct. 2, and humorist Wendy Liebman performs Thursday, Oct. 3. Both evening shows take place on the festival grounds.
Pre-festival workshops include a session on perfecting stage presence with acclaimed bluegrass musician Josh Goforth, a family story-collecting workshop with storyteller Kim Weitkamp, and more. Details are available at storytellingcenter.net.
Ticketing options for individuals and families include low-price tickets for individual events such as al fresco Ghost Stories (Oct. 4 and 5, at 7:30 p.m.), which are $10, and an “After Hours” concert with Kevin Kling and Simone Perrin. Kling’s concert is on Oct. 4 at 9:30 p.m. The featured ghost storytellers this year are Megan Wells and Janice Del Negro.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.storytellingcenter.net/festival or call 800-952-8392.
The National Storytelling Festival is sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Tennessee Arts Commission, the Niswonger Foundation, the Norris Family Fund, the Frist Foundation, Mary Brugh, the Carnegie Hotel, Food City, East Tennessee State University, Bank of Tennessee, the Apple Seed and Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa.
