Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough Oct. 2-4

JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. – Sheila Kay Adams wants to tell you a story.
Same goes for Syd Lieberman, Bill Harley, Willy Claflin and Gay Ducey.
Oh, you can put Chuna McIntyre and the Rev. Robert Jones on that list of tale-spinners, too.
All are performers coming to Jonesborough, Tenn., for the 37th Annual National Storytelling Festival, held this weekend, running Oct. 2-4.
Annually, the National Storytelling Festival attracts about 10,000 people to Jonesborough for all-day outdoor programs, under tents, plus late-night performances for adults, ghost story concerts and events geared for all ages.
Names on the marquee this year include Leeny Del Seamonds, an acclaimed performer, coach and multi award-winning recording artist. Seamonds is known for animated tales and uplifting stories.
Also coming to the festival is Jennifer Armstrong, who has spent her life writing, singing and making music with fiddle, bagpipe and banjo.
Generally, this year’s festival will be similar to previous years, said Jimmy Neil Smith, the festival’s founder.
“This is a great opportunity for people in this region to see an event that is world class,” Smith said. “And people come from all over the world to see it.”

FAN FAVORITES
Little more than 60 people turned out in 1973 for the first National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, when it was held on the steps of the Washington County Courthouse.
Over the years, some performers have become fan favorites.
One is Donald Davis, who lives at Ocracoke, N.C., but now often reflects on his early years, growing up in the mountains of North Carolina. Davis spins Jack tales, speaks of scary mountain lore and tells true-to-life stories of his neighbors and kin.
“Donald is probably the best known teller in America,” said Susan O’Connor, the festival’s director of programs. “He’s a particular favorite in the Southeast.”
Another on the forever-favorites list is Kathryn Tucker Windham, the author of more than 20 books. Known for her folksy tales dripping with the charms of her Alabama home, Windham is an accomplished playwright and a popular television and radio personality.
She also has been around Jonesborough since almost the beginning: Windham attended the second National Storytelling Festival in 1974.
Today, O’Connor calls Windham “the matriarch” of the National Storytelling Festival.
“Kathryn is iconic, in that the way that [the late] Doc McConnell and [the late] Ray Hicks were and are,” O’Connor said.
In more recent years, the festival has also attracted a new generation of storytellers.
Like Bil Lepp.
A resident of Charleston, W.Va., Lepp is coming back this year to perform stories that range from the kitchen of a small-town Kentucky Fried Chicken to his mythical “Blue Truck.” Some are tall tales; all are humorous and have helped Lepp become a five-time champion of the West Virginia Liars’ Contest.
Festival officials, like O’Connor and Smith, had followed Lepp’s career for years. And now, O’Connor said, “We’re researching new people and tracking their careers.”

GHOST TALES
Expect ghost tales late at night, 8-10 p.m., starring Dan Keding and Charlotte Blake Alston on Friday and Saturday at this year’s festival.
“The ghost tales are wildly popular,” said Amanda Mullins, the festival’s project assistant.
Also on the schedule are stories suited strictly for adults at the “Midnight Cabaret,” starting at 10:30 p.m., with Friday’s show starring comedian Andy Offutt Irwin and Saturday featuring Judith Black.
In all, the festival offers about 100 hours of entertainment and performances by more than 20 storytellers.
Attendees typically range from schoolteachers and corporate executives to aspiring storytellers and families.
“About 60 percent are from the Southeast,” O’Connor said. “We have about 46 states represented and usually have four to six other countries represented.”
For many attendees, O’Connor said, this festival has become an annual tradition.
Now, double-stamp that word “tradition.”
“We have kept the format the same,” O’Connor said. “We have multiple tents running all the time – all day and into the evening. And what’s good about it is it’s not different.”

jtennis@bristolnews.com | (276) 791-0704

YOU SHOULD KNOW
What: National Storytelling Festival
Where: Jonesborough, Tenn.
When: Oct. 2-4 (Friday-Sunday)
How much: Friday or Saturday admission (each day) is $105 (adults); $95 (children, 6-12) and $100 (over 65). Sunday’s admission is $50 (adults); $40 (children, 6-12) and $45 (over 65).
Admission for a combination ticket of Saturday and Sunday is $135 (adults); $115 (children, age 6-12) and $125 (over 65). Passes for the full weekend are $160 adults; $140 children (age 6-12); and $145 (over 65).
Ghost story concerts for all ages (except under 6) on Friday and Saturday, 8-10 p.m., are $10. Midnight Cabaret (not recommended for children) on Friday and Saturday, 10:30 p.m.-midnight, is $20 adults and features John McCutcheon on Friday and Chic Street Man on Saturday.
Info: (800) 952-8392
Web: www.storytellingcenter.net