The Tennessee Storytelling Festival and Conference was announced today by Guerry McConnell, President of the Tennessee Storytelling Association. The Festival is scheduled for Murfreesboro on May 20—22.
In a statement, McConnell said that this will be the seventeenth annual conference which seeks to preserve and perpetuate the art of storytelling in Tennessee. It brings together professional storytellers, teachers, librarians, practitioners who use storytelling in the healing arts, and individuals who love a good story, to exchange stories and share effective techniques for telling their stories.
The Festival will include a public concert that will be co-sponsored by Middle Tennessee State University and will feature nationally prominent storytelling artists, David Novak and Doc McConnell, in Wright Music Hall at MTSU on Friday evening, May 20.
Mr. Novak has been a featured storyteller at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, and has appeared at festivals and concerts all across the country. He has been a guest instructor for the University of San Diego, International Storytelling Institute, Oklahoma Arts Institute, John Campbell Folk School, and Walt Disney Imagineering. He has been a Master Storyteller for the Disney Institute in Orlando, Florida.
Doc McConnell is the founder of the Tennessee Storytelling Association and one of the original founders of the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough. In addition to being featured as a storyteller, Mr. McConnell is noted for his regular appearance there in Doc McConnell’s Old Medicine Show. He captures the color of rural Appalachia with his stories of family and their experiences.
Storytellers will tell their tales throughout Cannonsburgh Village all day on Saturday, May 21, as a part of “Free Day in May” sponsored by the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce. The public is invited to participate in unique storytelling experiences for the entire family at various locations throughout the restored pioneer village.
Workshops for members of the Tennessee Storytelling Association will be conducted adjacent to Cannonsburgh on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, May 20-22. The theme of the workshops is “Storytelling: A Key to Learning at Any Age” which includes training for classroom teachers, teaching artists, librarians, as well as educators in many other fields. David Novak will be presenting a Masters Workshop during the conference. Details for the Festival and Conference and information on registration are available at the TSA web-site www.tnstorytelling.org.
Financial support for the Festival is being provided by the Tennessee Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts along with the Rutherford Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Middle Tennessee Tourism Council, and local business and industry in Murfreesboro. For information about the Festival, contact TSA at P.O. Box 150984, Nashville, TN 37215 or by telephone at (615) 662-0722.