Kim Weitkamp is a crowd favorite at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival for good reason. She peppers her stories with humor, tall tales, music, and wisdom. Not only is Kim an award winning storyteller, author, and speaker, but she also owns a design company, a record label, and has been involved in humanitarian work for the old and young alike. Talk about a busy woman! Well, we certainly appreciate Kim for taking the time to answer a few questions and guide us along her pathway to story.
2. Could you tell us about someone who has influenced you on this journey as a storyteller?I experienced some pretty magical moments with Megan Hicks, Jay Callahan and David Novak. They were some of the first professional storytellers I ever saw. But my roots are deep in the soil of the books I read as a kid. I had a fairy tale collection book from Readers Digest and I am not kidding when I say I wore the binding out.3. What are you passionate about outside of storytelling?
Using story to heal and bring people together, strengthening families/communities or making creating a new community. I own a maker-space and yarn shop called The Makery. I opened it not just because of my love of handmade things, but also to carve out a corner where people feel loved and safe and where stories can be shared while we sit side by side creating. It is a very, very powerful thing and it has been more rewarding than what I had imagined.
4. Where does storytelling go from here? How do you see its influence on society?
Stories have been influencing story since the first hieroglyphics were scratched onto a cave wall. The vehicle that story uses and/or the way stories are shared may change on and off, but humans will never stop sharing stories face to face. State of the art will never replace state of the heart. It is too much a part of who we are as humans. There is a huge buzz in business about storytelling and it is creating awareness at many levels to the power of story. I am grateful for that. I think there will be an ongoing cycle where a revival of storytelling rises up and then ebbs and then rises again. It is the basic circle of us always coming back to our roots. But hey, what do I know.
5. What fictional place would you most like to visit?
The Shire.
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Thanks, Kim, for taking the time to answer our questions. Don’t miss her at the 2018 Timpanogos Storytelling Festival on September 6-8 at the Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, UT. Purchase your tickets at timpfest.org.
love, love, love Kim Weitkamp. Thanks Kim for all you’re doing and for coming again to the Timpanogos Festival.
Timpanogos Storytelling is dedicated to establishing and embracing programs, festivals, events, organizations, and products that use the power of story to strengthen individuals, families, and communities.