by Donnette Engebrecht
posted January 6, 2005
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn.—Smoky Mountains Storytelling Festival returns to Pigeon Forge Feb. 3-5. This will mark the 14th year for the popular event, which traditionally brings some of the nation’s top storytellers and thousands of visitors to this East Tennessee town.
Storytelling activities include concerts and workshops throughout the three-day event. Tellers at the 2005 festival include Donald Davis, Kevin Cordi, Doug Elliott and Charles Maynard.
Donald Davis was born in the mountains of North Carolina, on land where his family has lived since 1781. He grew up surrounded by traditional storytellers and “absorbed” the tales he was told. Davis is a former chairperson of the Board of Directors for the National Storytelling Association and has been a featured teller at the Smithsonian Institution, the World's Fair, festivals and concerts throughout the United States and the world. He is a prolific author and producer of books and tapes of his works and a master teacher of workshops and storytelling courses.
Kevin Cordi is a storyteller, a storytelling coach, a storytelling teacher and the co-chair of the Youth Storytelling Special Interest Group of the National Storytelling Network. His journeys have taken him to more than 25 U.S. states, England and Japan. Cordi has coached students and adults in the fine art of storytelling for more than a dozen years and most recently was a storytelling teacher at a California high school.
Doug Elliott is a storyteller with a passion for the great outdoors. He has performed at the National Storytelling Festival and the American Museum of Natural History and has conducted workshops for the Smithsonian Institution. He travels the world studying plant and animal life, seeking out the traditional wisdom of people who have intimate connections to the natural world.
Charles Maynard is the founder and former executive director of Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and former director of advancement for the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, Tenn. A noted author and storyteller Maynard combines his knowledge of the Smoky Mountains with an acute sense of humor to deliver entertaining and educational tales.
Beginning in 2005 a number of concerts and workshops will be dedicated to the next generation of storytellers, culminating with the National Youth Storytelling Hall of Fame Showcase where the next Grand Torchbearer will be selected from performing finalists.
Other festival activities include Haunts ‘n’ Haints Trolley Tales, which combine storytelling with an evening ride aboard a Pigeon Forge trolley. Haunts ‘n’ Haints tickets are $3 per person, and tickets will be available at (865) 429-7350.
Smoky Mountains Storytelling Festival concerts will take place at Smith Family Theater, 2330 Parkway, and workshops at Holiday Inn Express, 308 Henderson Chapel Road. Weekend passes for theater activities are $15 for ages 18 and older, free to ages 17 and younger. Tickets will be available at (888) 592-8100. Artists, dates and admission fees are subject to change without notice.
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