National Storytelling Festival
The 50th National Storytelling Festival was held in Jonesborough, Tennessee from 6-8 October. I couldn’t get there for various reasons, but the Library Tent performances on Friday were live streamed and I watched as much as I could. I’ve just finished watching the recordings a little while ago, so here is my run down.
Bil Lepp started things off with a very funny story about he and his friends trying to prove that their fourth grade teacher was actually Wonder Woman. I’d heard this story before, but that never matters with something so well crafted. He was followed by Jasmin Cardenas. I’d never heard her before. She told three stories - two folktales and a personal story about having a birthday party and introducing her friends to her family’s Columbian traditions. I found that idea of multicultural hospitality very relatable.
Milbre Burch told stories that had to do with hospitality. The first one, from Sri Lanka, was a Cinderella variant, where the prince was a seven-mouthed ogre and the girl feeds him rice and curry each night, causing one of the mouths to disappear when he ate them. The second story was a variant of the Grimm story “The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage,” but without the bird. Finally, there was a story (I think from Brittany, but I could be misremembering) that involved standing stones that roll down to the river one night every hundred years, revealing hidden fairy gold. The next teller was TuuP, who is originally from Guyana and now lives in London. He told two stories. The first was about Mr. Salt and Mrs. Sugar and how they achieved a more harmonious relationship. The second one was the familiar one about the woman who needs to get a tiger’s whisker to make a potion to help her relationship with her husband.
After that, I heard Mo Reynolds. She told two stories I’d heard from her before. The first one mixes a folk tale about a singing rabbit who confronts a lion, combined with the story of how she became a storyteller. The second one was a very funny personal story about going to an escape room. She was followed by Antonio Sacre, who is one of my favorite storytellers. Most of his story had to do with “dichos,” i.e. sayings he heard from his family. This was mixed in with his getting mangos from his grandmother’s tree for his name day.
I’d never heard Gene Tagabon before. He’s a Tlingit storyteller, from Alaska and told a story that had to do with his time at an Indian junior college in Kansas, which he left to take odd jobs and travel around in a minivan. He had some interesting encounters while traveling, including some with people who had never met any Indians before. Then came Kim Weitkamp, who told an amusingly outrageous story about her uncle fixing her sled, adding a motor that let it fly. It was very entertainingly over the top.
The next set started with Megan Wells. First, she did her take on Danny Kaye’s “Tubby the Tuba at the Circus,” which was wonderful. That was followed by a very evocative story about an elephant who had been in the circus and then a zoo and what happened to her at an elephant sanctuary. After that, was Peter Cook, who used sign language to tell the story of 3 sons who are sent by their father to find wives. The youngest ends up with a frog. The story is basically a cross between Lady Ragnell and the Frog Prince. He also told a short story about a king who gives each of 4 daughters a sunflower seed and many years later asks each of them for it. It’s a familiar story but he performed it well.
There was an evening olio with eight tellers. Paul Strickland started that off with a story set back in the days when one in seven people got cursed, including a boy who was given a book for a head. The curse was reversed by a well which let him read his book. It was very clever and very funny. Then came Debs Newbold from England, who told the story of the siege of Troy in 9 minutes in rhyme. Michael Reno Harrell told a personal story about sailing in the Bahamas and meeting a guy from a coal mining region in Kentucky. He was followed by Sue O’Halloran who told a story about her grandmother setting her hair - and the curtains - on fire. The next teller was Dom Flemons who told a story (in song) about being a Black Cowboy and followed it with a harmonica tune. Then Geraldine Buckley told a story about food poisoning which struck before a long trip and resulted in her being strip searched by police in Spain. I hadn’t heard Don White tell before, though I had read his book about hitchhiking around the U.S. His story had to do with how he dealt with his teenage daughter when he came home from work and was particularly exhausted. Finally, the always wonderful Donald Davis had a story about how his family dealt with getting an oil heater and worrying about its impact on Santa Claus visiting their house.
Overall, there was nearly 12 hours of storytelling, with a great variety of stories and well worth the time.
I’d like to get to the festival in person again, but the timing is difficult because of the Jewish holidays. For example, next year’s overlaps with the second day of Rosh Hashanah, so isn’t going to work for me.
Bil Lepp started things off with a very funny story about he and his friends trying to prove that their fourth grade teacher was actually Wonder Woman. I’d heard this story before, but that never matters with something so well crafted. He was followed by Jasmin Cardenas. I’d never heard her before. She told three stories - two folktales and a personal story about having a birthday party and introducing her friends to her family’s Columbian traditions. I found that idea of multicultural hospitality very relatable.
Milbre Burch told stories that had to do with hospitality. The first one, from Sri Lanka, was a Cinderella variant, where the prince was a seven-mouthed ogre and the girl feeds him rice and curry each night, causing one of the mouths to disappear when he ate them. The second story was a variant of the Grimm story “The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage,” but without the bird. Finally, there was a story (I think from Brittany, but I could be misremembering) that involved standing stones that roll down to the river one night every hundred years, revealing hidden fairy gold. The next teller was TuuP, who is originally from Guyana and now lives in London. He told two stories. The first was about Mr. Salt and Mrs. Sugar and how they achieved a more harmonious relationship. The second one was the familiar one about the woman who needs to get a tiger’s whisker to make a potion to help her relationship with her husband.
After that, I heard Mo Reynolds. She told two stories I’d heard from her before. The first one mixes a folk tale about a singing rabbit who confronts a lion, combined with the story of how she became a storyteller. The second one was a very funny personal story about going to an escape room. She was followed by Antonio Sacre, who is one of my favorite storytellers. Most of his story had to do with “dichos,” i.e. sayings he heard from his family. This was mixed in with his getting mangos from his grandmother’s tree for his name day.
I’d never heard Gene Tagabon before. He’s a Tlingit storyteller, from Alaska and told a story that had to do with his time at an Indian junior college in Kansas, which he left to take odd jobs and travel around in a minivan. He had some interesting encounters while traveling, including some with people who had never met any Indians before. Then came Kim Weitkamp, who told an amusingly outrageous story about her uncle fixing her sled, adding a motor that let it fly. It was very entertainingly over the top.
The next set started with Megan Wells. First, she did her take on Danny Kaye’s “Tubby the Tuba at the Circus,” which was wonderful. That was followed by a very evocative story about an elephant who had been in the circus and then a zoo and what happened to her at an elephant sanctuary. After that, was Peter Cook, who used sign language to tell the story of 3 sons who are sent by their father to find wives. The youngest ends up with a frog. The story is basically a cross between Lady Ragnell and the Frog Prince. He also told a short story about a king who gives each of 4 daughters a sunflower seed and many years later asks each of them for it. It’s a familiar story but he performed it well.
There was an evening olio with eight tellers. Paul Strickland started that off with a story set back in the days when one in seven people got cursed, including a boy who was given a book for a head. The curse was reversed by a well which let him read his book. It was very clever and very funny. Then came Debs Newbold from England, who told the story of the siege of Troy in 9 minutes in rhyme. Michael Reno Harrell told a personal story about sailing in the Bahamas and meeting a guy from a coal mining region in Kentucky. He was followed by Sue O’Halloran who told a story about her grandmother setting her hair - and the curtains - on fire. The next teller was Dom Flemons who told a story (in song) about being a Black Cowboy and followed it with a harmonica tune. Then Geraldine Buckley told a story about food poisoning which struck before a long trip and resulted in her being strip searched by police in Spain. I hadn’t heard Don White tell before, though I had read his book about hitchhiking around the U.S. His story had to do with how he dealt with his teenage daughter when he came home from work and was particularly exhausted. Finally, the always wonderful Donald Davis had a story about how his family dealt with getting an oil heater and worrying about its impact on Santa Claus visiting their house.
Overall, there was nearly 12 hours of storytelling, with a great variety of stories and well worth the time.
I’d like to get to the festival in person again, but the timing is difficult because of the Jewish holidays. For example, next year’s overlaps with the second day of Rosh Hashanah, so isn’t going to work for me.