The Bristol Hills Storytelling Festival is excited to announce that we are celebrating 20 years of storytelling. The Elkhart County Historical Museum, at 304 W. Vistula Street in Bristol will host the Bristol Hills 20th Storytelling Festival. Parking is available at the Museum, the Post Office, and across the street.
The Museum will remain open during the Storytelling Festival. Visitors are encouraged to browse through the exhibits before the program to learn about local history. Tour guides will be available to direct our guests through the galleries.
Dates are: Friday, September 11 and Saturday, September 12. Admission is $8. The Swapping Ground precedes the Featured Telling at 7 pm with local informal audience participation and is open to anyone wishing to share or just listen to a story at no charge. Traditionally the Swapping Grounds provides an opportunity for interested people to tell a story in front of a supportive audience.
The 2009 Festival featured storytellers will be:
DONALD DAVIS grew up hearing; fairy tales, simple and silly Jack tales, scary mountain lore, and most importantly, the true-to-life stories of his own kin and neighbors. “I didn’t learn stories, I just absorbed them” he says. Donald invites each listener to come along, to pull deep inside for one’s own stories, to personally share and co-create the common experiences that celebrate the creative experience.
BETH HORNER has a vivacious stage presence and a warm energetic style, enriched with music and humor. Beth’s stories are a balance between traditional and contemporary. She says “I like plucky characters that have great strength.” As a storyteller, Beth is dedicated to entertaining listeners and to empowering them to relate their own personal stories.
BIL LEPP tells original Appalachian flavored tales and stories of growing up in Half dollar, W. Virginia. Bil’s stories often start as personal experiences, move toward outrageous, and become hysterically unbelievable. Yet they contain morsels of truth and wisdom. True life or true lie? You may never know. Five time champion of the West Virginia Liars’ Contest Bil says “Everywhere I slept, I’ve lied.”
LYN FORD, a fourth generation African-American teller, uses percussion instruments, rhythm and rhyme, audience interaction, and humor in her storytelling presentations. Her “Home-Fried Tales” are a combination of oral tradition, folklore adaptation, original stories and poems. Lyn tells stories that make you laugh out loud and tales to make you think and remember.
Some things never change and one of them is the powerful human need to hear stories. Storytelling preserves and transmits images, ideas, and emotions that are universal to the human experience. Before there was science, there were stories. Before there was writing, there were stories. Before there was television, there were stories. Storytelling is a way for people to know themselves and to know others. Storytelling is for everyone, especially adults. Hearing, remembering, and telling stories help adults to cope with the challenges on life’s journey. If you think stories are only for kids, read on.
Do you like to laugh? Do you like adventure? Do you like to learn about other places? Do you want to know about other people? Do you like history? Then the joyful experience of storytelling is for you.
Plan to attend the Bristol Hills Storytelling Festival on Friday, September 11 and Saturday, September 12 at the Elkhart County Historical Museum at 304 W. Vistula in Bristol, Indiana. The performance begins at 7 pm. Tickets are available at the door. The Museum will be open both evenings during the Festival and tour guides will be available to direct guests through the galleries.
Come to the Bristol Hills Storytelling Festival for a delightful and joyful experience of storytelling for adults.
Learn more about the Bristol Hills Storytelling Festival at www.bristolhills.net.
