BANDY CREEK, Tenn. — The 24th Annual Haunting in the Hills Storytelling Festival is scheduled for Saturday, September 17. Events begin at 9:30 a.m., with live music and educational programs and continue throughout the day until the highlight of the event with our featured storytellers telling exciting and entertaining stories from 7-10 p.m.
Featured story tellers for 2016 are Madafo Lloyd Wilson, Priscilla Howe, Fran Stallings, and Linda Gorham.
“The African Storyteller, Musician, Historian, Poet, Teacher, Chronicler of Tradition…,” Madafo tells classic tales for the young and elder, recites poetry written by the masters and plays the music of the sage. The works of Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Kahlil Gibran and other favorite authors are presented in this delightful and insightful program of timeless laughter, folk literature and song.
Storyteller Priscilla Howe, a native New Englander, comes to us from Lawrence, Kansas, where she lives with her cat, Francis Bacon. A former children’s librarian, Priscilla has been a full-time storyteller and puppeteer since 1993. She travels around the country and abroad, telling stories in schools, libraries, conferences, festivals and special events. She’s always searching for new stories to tell as well as for the best restaurant pie on earth.
Fran Stallings is an American storyteller for people of all ages. She has performed at numerous national and international storytelling festivals, in schools and libraries, and on the radio. She performs primarily folktales from around the world. She has produced several audio recordings and books of stories. She conducts workshops, residencies, and festival performances throughout the United States and overseas.
Linda Gorham’s performances are filled with surprising twists, unexpected turns and unconventional humor. For the past 25 years, Linda has engaged audiences of all ages with interactive folktales, distinctive myths and notably twisted fairy tales; riveting, well-researched historical stories; and humorously heartfelt stories about family life. Each performance is infused with her unique, signature “sophisticated attitude.”
Each year, thousands of students in area schools get to experience dynamic storytelling programs by world renowned storytellers during festival outreach programs. Local schools will again have an opportunity to see these tellers in action during the week leading up to the event.
Storytelling predates writing, with the earliest forms of storytelling usually oral combined with gestures and expressions. Stories have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation, and instilling moral values.
For more information or for directions to Bandy Creek, call (423) 286-7275 or (423) 569-9778 or go to http://www.nps.gov/biso/planyourvisit/storytelling.htm.
The storytelling festival is on Eastern Time. The event is free to the public. Bring a blanket or folding chairs to settle in and listen to the stories and the music.
