A few days ago, I returned to Colorado with my family from another extraordinary experience at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. Twenty-four years of excellence is no small feat. Everyone who ever has been or is currently involved in the festival or mid-winter conference can be very proud. I am a storyteller and teacher among many other things. Most of my life, my telling of personal anecdotes was limited to the dinner table or my classroom, usually to make a point. . .
The Donald Davis Retreat is just around the corner, next week to be exact. Have you bought your ticket yet? Yes, I’m talking to you, the one who has a secret desire to go to an inspiring five-day retreat to learn from a master storyteller. . .
There is an old saying that goes something like “Never judge a person until you have walked a mile in their shoes.” Wise words, indeed. Why is that true? Is there a story behind where those shoes have been? Does knowing that story make a difference? Perhaps more importantly, where will those shoes go next? On a lighter note, you can learn a lot about a person by the shoes they wear. . .
If you would have been sitting in the River Trail tent at Thursday night’s “Look Who’s Talking,” you would have seen two small children riveted to the stage. These children were Syd Lieberman’s grandchildren and this was the first time they had seen their grandfather perform on stage. . .
We have so many things to be grateful for (no downpour during Laughin’ Night, to name just one) and a great many thanks to hand around. Here are just a few (mixed in with a few picture thanks left for us by a few of you).
Geraldine Buckley is new to us at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, so we thought we would reach out to the storytelling community to get a little more information about her. Many thanks to national storyteller Kim Weitkamp for providing the following introduction: Geraldine has left her mark all over the world! From England to Holland to South Africa and…
One word comes to mind when I think about Kim and Reggie Harris: joyful. These two have a special zest for life, stories, and music that enlightens, encourages, and enlivens in a way that is quite simply contagious—I mean, honestly, just take a look at those smiles. Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, Kim and Reggie were exposed to just about every type of music possible. From jazz, rock, gospel, pop, and classical…
Every year a few of us from Timpanogos Storytelling travel to Tennessee for the National Storytelling Festival. We do this for two reasons: first, we like to do a little scouting for new tellers; second, it’s nice to listen to stories during a storytelling festival—something that not all of us get to do during our Festival. While at the festival, we make a special point of attending Exchange Place (an event for new tellers who have been invited . . .
I first heard Laura Pershin Raynor at Laughin’ Night during the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival in 2000. She told a short story, and I remember thinking, “That was great! I wish I would have gone to hear more from her.” Then in 2009, my husband and I got the honor of participating in the “What’s Your Story” project on Ocracoke Island with Donald Davis. I heard that Laura and her husband Kenny were going to be a part of it, too . . .
It is my distinct privilege to introduce one of the storytellers coming to this year’s Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. It is probably politically incorrect for a member of the Festival’s organizing committee to admit to having favorite tellers, but there you have it, I do. Barbara McBride-Smith is definitely one of my favorites. Since this is her fifth time telling at our Festival, she is also a favorite for many other . . .
I had arrived at my destination. It was a strange neighborhood, someone else’s home. I parked on the street, turned off the car and sat, listening…listening, smiling, crying, and laughing. My drive may have ended but The Old Man and Other Stories, a cassette tape of recorded stories by Syd Lieberman, hadn’t. I had no choice. Physically I was in my parked car, but mentally I was soaring in a world of hope, surprise, and second chances I didn’t . . .
With so many evening events throughout the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, we thought you’d enjoy learning about what will be happening at this year’s Festival—especially for those of you who are new to the Festival . . .
One reason we love story, whether telling or listening, is that story can send us into the past where we learn about where we came from and about how we arrived where we are today. And if we’re smart, we will let that knowledge guide us to where we want to be tomorrow. This year’s Timpanogos Storytelling Festival features three storytellers who will take us back to the annuls of history, teach us a little about how far . . .
Bil Lepp is an amazing storyteller and an even better liar. I have listened to his stories for years, and every single time, he hooks me right from the very beginning. He gets on stage wearing blue jeans, a tucked-in t-shirt, and a ball cap. He’s an average all-American guy that looks like your brother or your next-door neighbor. He puts his hands in his pockets and just starts telling you about something that happened when he was young . . .
It was a lovely October day in Jonesborough, Tennessee, several years ago when my Timpanogos Storytelling friends and I attended the National Storytelling Festival. We wandered into a tent where Andy Offutt Irwin was making his debut on the national storytelling scene. There he stood—a tallish, youngish, lanky fellow with straw-colored hair spinning stories about the crazy antics of his elderly, southern Aunt Marguerite . . .
Ed Stivender was no newcomer to the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival when I first had the opportunity of hearing him tell a story. But prior to actually seeing him in person, I had checked out several of his storytelling cassettes and CDs from the Orem Public Library just to be a bit familiar with his stories as I was set to be an emcee that year. I discovered that Ed Stivender was cut from a whole different cloth, both as a man and a storyteller . . .
