Southern Ohio Storytelling Festival
Encyclopedia
The Southern Ohio Storytelling Festival
is an annual event held on the Friday and Saturday after Labor Day
in Chillicothe, Ohio
. Local, regional and nationally known storytellers are invited to perform their favorite stories for thousands of school children and storytelling enthusiasts. This non-profit organization
is directed by a board of community members and local/regional storytellers.
in this region extends back to the Native American
. Shawnee
and Mingo
tribes that inhabited southern Ohio and maintained their history through stories passed down from generation to generation. The pioneers who established communities in the same area brought with them the stories of their ancestors even as they created their own. The travelers, and those who helped them, along the Underground Railroad
encouraged one another with their stories of hope as they passed through this area. The Southern Ohio Storytelling Festival continues this oral tradition through the sharing of stories by both professional and amateur storytellers. The festival was spearheaded by a local storyteller, Bill McKell, who had visited many festivals, including the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee
. With no similar regional festivals in Ohio, the potential for bringing this cultural event to the historic city, the first-captital of Ohio
, was made possible through grants/donations and the work of many community members and regional storytelling organizations.
The festival began in 2004. Various venues have been used over the years, in addition to the Majestic Theatre, to accommodate the thousands of school children that attend the festival. These locations have included the Stevenson Center library, Bennett Hall auditorium and the Shoemaker Center gymnasium at the Ohio University-Chillicothe
Branch, a tent at the Pump House Art Gallery in Yoctangee Park
, 30 East Main Street, the J.A. Smith Middle School auditorium, local school libraries/gymnasiums/auditoriums and a tent in the courtyard of the Majestic Theatre.
. A preview concert has been held on Thursday evening for sponsors and volunteers that includes a "meet the tellers" reception (this event was opened to the public beginning in 2010). Ghost stories after the evening concerts were added beginning in 2009.
Past performers include Bill Harley
, Carmen Agra Deedy
, Donald Davis (storyteller)
, Barbara McBride-Smith, Elizabeth Ellis
, Connie Regan-Blake
, Sheila Kay Adams
, Bobby Norfolk
, Bil Lepp
, Antonio Rocha
, Len Cabral
, Kate Long (storyteller)
, Lyn Ford
, Kevin Cordi
, Bill Harley
, Andy Offutt Irwin
, Geraldine Buckley, Joseph Helfrich, Adele Browne, Willy Claflin, Kim Weitkamp, Granny Sue, Suzi Whaples, Adam Booth, Rick Carson, Michael Kasony-O'Malley, Bill McKell, Sally Crandall, Jim Flanagan, Frank McGarvey, Cathy Jo Smith and Kevin Coleman. Participants are also encouraged to share their own stories at a stage with an open microphone on Saturday.
Storytelling festival
A storytelling festival is often an annual event that features local, regional and/or nationally known oral storytellers. Each storyteller will have a scheduled amount of time to share a story with an audience...
is an annual event held on the Friday and Saturday after Labor Day
Labor Day
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...
in Chillicothe, Ohio
Chillicothe, Ohio
Chillicothe is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States.Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio and is located in southern Ohio along the Scioto River. The name comes from the Shawnee name Chalahgawtha, meaning "principal town", as it was a major settlement of...
. Local, regional and nationally known storytellers are invited to perform their favorite stories for thousands of school children and storytelling enthusiasts. This non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
is directed by a board of community members and local/regional storytellers.
History
The history of storytellingStorytelling
Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values...
in this region extends back to the Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
and Mingo
Mingo
The Mingo are an Iroquoian group of Native Americans made up of peoples who migrated west to the Ohio Country in the mid-eighteenth century. Anglo-Americans called these migrants mingos, a corruption of mingwe, an Eastern Algonquian name for Iroquoian-language groups in general. Mingos have also...
tribes that inhabited southern Ohio and maintained their history through stories passed down from generation to generation. The pioneers who established communities in the same area brought with them the stories of their ancestors even as they created their own. The travelers, and those who helped them, along the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
encouraged one another with their stories of hope as they passed through this area. The Southern Ohio Storytelling Festival continues this oral tradition through the sharing of stories by both professional and amateur storytellers. The festival was spearheaded by a local storyteller, Bill McKell, who had visited many festivals, including the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee
Jonesborough, Tennessee
Jonesborough is a town in and the county seat of Washington County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The population was 4,168 at the 2000 census...
. With no similar regional festivals in Ohio, the potential for bringing this cultural event to the historic city, the first-captital of Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, was made possible through grants/donations and the work of many community members and regional storytelling organizations.
The festival began in 2004. Various venues have been used over the years, in addition to the Majestic Theatre, to accommodate the thousands of school children that attend the festival. These locations have included the Stevenson Center library, Bennett Hall auditorium and the Shoemaker Center gymnasium at the Ohio University-Chillicothe
Ohio University-Chillicothe
Sitting atop the hills represented in the Great Seal of Ohio, Ohio University – Chillicothe is a non-residential regional campus with an enrollment of more than 2,500 students. For more than 60 years, OU-C has remained devoted to its mission of preparing students for the challenges of tomorrow and...
Branch, a tent at the Pump House Art Gallery in Yoctangee Park
Yoctangee Park
Yoctangee Park is a public park in Chillicothe, Ohio adjacent to the Historic First Capital District. City Park was the official name of the park from its establishment in 1875 until it was changed to Yoctangee Park sometime in the 1890s by William H...
, 30 East Main Street, the J.A. Smith Middle School auditorium, local school libraries/gymnasiums/auditoriums and a tent in the courtyard of the Majestic Theatre.
The Festival
Storytelling concerts are held throughout the day on both Friday and Saturday. Thousands of students participate during the day on Friday in various venues that include the Majestic Theatre, a tent at the Pump House Art Gallery in Yoctangee Park and local school auditoriums. Classes of students around the state of Ohio are also invited to participate through the state's videoconferencing network. Friday's afternoon and evening concerts are held in the Majestic Theatre. Saturday the venue is moved to a tent at the Pump House Art Gallery in Yoctangee ParkYoctangee Park
Yoctangee Park is a public park in Chillicothe, Ohio adjacent to the Historic First Capital District. City Park was the official name of the park from its establishment in 1875 until it was changed to Yoctangee Park sometime in the 1890s by William H...
. A preview concert has been held on Thursday evening for sponsors and volunteers that includes a "meet the tellers" reception (this event was opened to the public beginning in 2010). Ghost stories after the evening concerts were added beginning in 2009.
Past performers include Bill Harley
Bill Harley
Bill Harley is a children's entertainer and storyteller who has been called "the Mark Twain of contemporary children's music" by Entertainment Weekly. He uses a range of musical styles and appeals to children and adults with quirky, heart-filled lyrics...
, Carmen Agra Deedy
Carmen Agra Deedy
Carmen Agra Deedy is an internationally known, award winning author of children’s literature, storyteller and radio contributor. Born in Havana, Cuba, she immigrated to the United States with her family in 1963 after the Cuban Revolution...
, Donald Davis (storyteller)
Donald Davis (storyteller)
Donald Davis is an American storyteller, author and minister. Davis had a twenty year career as a minister before he became a professional storyteller. He has recorded over 25 storytelling albums and written several books based on those stories...
, Barbara McBride-Smith, Elizabeth Ellis
Elizabeth Ellis
Elizabeth Ellis is an American storyteller and author who has been awarded the Circle of Excellence in 1997 by the National Storytelling Network after being recognized by her peers as a master storyteller. She is a regular performer at the National Storytelling Festival...
, Connie Regan-Blake
Connie Regan-Blake
Connie Regan-Blake is an American storyteller and author who has been awarded the Circle of Excellence in 1996 by the National Storytelling Network after being recognized by her peers as a master storyteller. She is a regular performer at the National Storytelling Festival...
, Sheila Kay Adams
Sheila Kay Adams
Sheila Kay Adams is an American storyteller, author and banjo player who received the North Carolina Folklore Society’s Brown-Hudson Award in recognition of her valuable contributions to the study of North Carolina folklore....
, Bobby Norfolk
Bobby Norfolk
Bobby Norfolk is an American storyteller and arts educator. He has received three Emmy Awards as host for the television series Gator Tales and is also the host of the Emmy Award nominated cable series Children's Theater at Bobby's House...
, Bil Lepp
Bil Lepp
Bil Lepp is an American storyteller and a five-time winner of the West Virginia State Liars' Contest. He performs at storytelling festivals around the nation and is a regular performer at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. In 2011, Lepp album, Vampire Santa, won a...
, Antonio Rocha
Antonio Rocha
Antonio Rocha is a mime and storyteller who studied under the mime master Tony Montanaro. He regularly performs at festivals and the National Storytelling Festival.-External links:*...
, Len Cabral
Len Cabral
Len Cabral is an American storyteller who has been awarded the Circle of Excellence in 2001 by the National Storytelling Network after being recognized by his peers as a master storyteller. He is best known for his enthusiastic hand gestures and character voices. Among his favorite stories are...
, Kate Long (storyteller)
Kate Long (storyteller)
Kate Long is an American songwriter and storyteller who writes songs that have been recorded by dozens of artists and won national awards, including the International Bluegrass Music Association Song of the Year. She is the writing coach for The Charleston Gazette and produces for West Virginia...
, Lyn Ford
Lyn Ford
Lyn Ford, an American storyteller, was the first storyteller in the state of Ohio to be nominated for a Governor’s Award for the Arts. She is a regular performer at regional storytelling festivals, and has performed at the National Storytelling Festival....
, Kevin Cordi
Kevin Cordi
Kevin Cordi is an American teacher, storyteller and author who has been awarded The Film Advisory Board of Excellence Award and The Storytelling World Award. He is a regular performer at storytelling festivals including the National Storytelling Festival...
, Bill Harley
Bill Harley
Bill Harley is a children's entertainer and storyteller who has been called "the Mark Twain of contemporary children's music" by Entertainment Weekly. He uses a range of musical styles and appeals to children and adults with quirky, heart-filled lyrics...
, Andy Offutt Irwin
Andy Offutt Irwin
Andy Offutt Irwin is an American storyteller, arts educator, singer-songwriter and humorist. Born and raised in Covington, Georgia, a small town outside of Atlanta, Irwin began his career in 1984 with an improvisational comedy troupe at Walt Disney World. After five years he shifted to performing...
, Geraldine Buckley, Joseph Helfrich, Adele Browne, Willy Claflin, Kim Weitkamp, Granny Sue, Suzi Whaples, Adam Booth, Rick Carson, Michael Kasony-O'Malley, Bill McKell, Sally Crandall, Jim Flanagan, Frank McGarvey, Cathy Jo Smith and Kevin Coleman. Participants are also encouraged to share their own stories at a stage with an open microphone on Saturday.
External links and references
- The Southern Ohio Storytelling Festival (Chillicothe, OhioChillicothe, OhioChillicothe is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States.Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio and is located in southern Ohio along the Scioto River. The name comes from the Shawnee name Chalahgawtha, meaning "principal town", as it was a major settlement of...
, USAUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) - Storytelling festivals List and links to storytelling festivals
- The National Storytelling Network (USAUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) - An interview with Bill McKell, the founder of the Southern Ohio Storytelling Festival "Building a Storytelling Festival from the Ground Up"