Tickets are now on sale for the first annual TaleSpin Festival, a major storytelling event featuring national and regional tellers, in downtown Chattanooga from May 12 through May 14.
Designed to showcase storytellers from various walks of life with themes that include youth stories, cultural stories, humorous stories, historical stories and more, the TaleSpin Festival is an event that will appeal to all ages.
On Friday night, May 12, a kickoff event featuring eight national storytellers and music from the New City Fellowship Choir will be held at the historic Tivoli Theatre. On Saturday, May 13, Ross’s Landing will be the centerpiece for the festival, with telling occurring under festival tents throughout the day followed by ghost stories under the night sky.
Then on Sunday, May 14, there will be more telling under tents at the waterfront, as well as a separately ticketed Mother’s Day storytelling breakfast cruise aboard the Southern Belle Riverboat. National tellers scheduled for the TaleSpin Festival include Connie Regan-Blake, Gayle Ross, Andy Offutt Irwin, Kathryn Windham, Angela Lloyd, Doug Elliott, Bobby Norfolk and Jim Pfitzer. Local and regional tellers will also be featured on Saturday and Sunday.
Following are the ticket prices:
$15 Friday at the Tivoli
$45 All three days including the Ghost Stories (not including Mother’s Day Cruise)
$35 Saturday and Sunday
$20 Single Saturday or Sunday tickets
$25 Mother's Day Breakfast Cruise
$10 Ghost Stories
Attendees of the TaleSpin Festival, as well as the general public, may enjoy the large food court including a dining tent with a musical performance stage. A tent housing event memorabilia, merchandise from featured storytellers and a variety of publications from August House will also be open to the public throughout the festival on Saturday and Sunday.
TaleSpin Festival is presented by UBS and produced by Chattanooga Downtown Partnership. Other corporate sponsors include Fletcher Bright Company, August House, UNUMProvident, McKay Used Books and CDs, Tennessee Arts Commission, Times Free Press, Comcast, The Chattanoogan and Sunny 92.3.
Volunteers are needed on Saturday and Sunday at the event entrance and ticket sales area, in the storytelling tents, the food & music tent, hospitality areas, merchandise sales tent and at various other areas throughout the event site. Volunteers will receive free admission to the event, a TaleSpin Festival t-shirt, on-site parking and refreshments throughout their shift. Please email Ann Ball at to volunteer.
To purchase tickets to volunteer for the 2006 TaleSpin Festival, please call 423-265-0771 or visit www.talespinfestival.org or www.downtownchattanooga.org .