Robert Jones, also known and ordained the Reverend Robert Jones, was invited to be a storyteller at the 2020 Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, It turned out to be a virtual festival only but he still found it to be a highlight experience as the storytelling community accepted him without reservation. (The […]
Donald Davis—who has become an icon of storytelling at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival and who is a master at taking listeners to the North Carolina mountains to laugh at stories about spilled syrup, broken bones, “doobies,” and pink lotion rubbed all over the baby—says he grew up listening to and loving stories. “I did not […]
For Susan O’Halloran, inclusion has been her passion since she was a teenager and met Dr. Martin Luther King’s people in Chicago. “I’ve been telling stories “professionally” since the 1970s.” O’Halloran says, “I did what we would now call Performance Art. “In the 1950s and 60s, I grew up in a storytelling family — not […]
Bill Harley likes how spoken words and music go together, creating a kind of magical connection. They always have, Harley says. So he blends words and music in his storytelling to educate and to create community. “At times, I feel like I’m a conduit for something larger than me,” Harley says. “I started telling stories […]
Storyteller Alton Chung believes in connecting with others. When he tells a story, he is 100 percent present—not worrying about dinner or laundry or bills. “It is my belief that in our current society, we don’t get much of that kind of focused attention,” he explains. “We are too busy checking our phones or thinking […]
If you head into a maximum security men’s prison to tell stories, take along your sense of humor, and it’s a top idea to bring along an electric teapot and a variety of teas and sugar! That’s what Geraldine Buckley—one of the storytellers slated to be on the roster at the 32nd annual Timpanogos Storytelling […]
If you listen to Bil Lepp long enough, you know he changes tires on planes while they are in the air. He can pick up a bit of conversation and turn it into a tale that wraps itself around the world. And he comes by it naturally. “I come from a long line of people […]
Timpanogos Storytelling Festival 2021–The Best of Both Worlds! Upcoming Events “We’ve been listening to you, our devoted storytelling enthusiasts, and we’re thrilled to announce that you’re about to get everything you’ve been asking for . . . at least as far as our Festival is concerned! For the first time ever, the 2021 Timpanogos Storytelling […]
I’m interested in putting stories into the world through as many genres as possible. Whether I am singing or telling, being funny or serious, speaking plainly or poetically, I am always trying to serve the story so that it will find as many ears and hearts as possible… Of what earthly good is a story without an ear to receive it, without a mind to be challenged by it, without a sense of wonder to marvel at it and, most importantly, without an open heart to possibly see the world differently after being moved by it?
Andy Hedges is new to the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival this year, so we asked him to introduce himself and his Texas brand of cowboy storytelling.
Storytelling is timeless because we are the only species on Earth who use story. They have been our companions, teachers and care givers for millennia.
Storytelling is timely because we, as a species, tend to spend too much time forgetting what being human is all about. Stories remind us of our humanity. Storytelling is the new fire we sit around of in order to keep us warm.
Of all the festivals in which I’ve been privileged to tell, Timpanogos best fulfills the promise of a “family event.” I love the wide mix of age groups that you see in the audience and on the stage: young children listening as older children tell, teenagers and college students telling, and juggling , and playing music, and presenting puppet plays, parents and grandparents cheering the young folks and also sharing stories. Everyone is involved in every way!
I get nervous, particularly in front of thousands of people. What do I do? – I trust the stories. I am just a conduit for a tale that has charmed, chilled, or thrilled audiences for hundreds-sometimes thousands- of years. If I can get out of my own way then the story will work its magic.
One of Timpanogos’ favorite storytellers, Charlotte Blake Alston has a wonderful way of weaving stories that allow…
“Life be not so short but that there is always time for courtesy.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Another storytelling festival has come to an end, and we’re left to share the stories, laughs and lessons with our family and friends. Stories offer many takeaways if you’re looking for them. Below are just a few mixed in with the lies, laughs and life lessons.
