Storytelling Festival Celebrates 20th Year at WSU

OGDEN, Utah — Weber State University’s 20th annual Storytelling Festival will take place Feb. 22-24. Each year the award-winning festival invites the public to enjoy the performances of national, local and student storytellers.

“This is the largest youth storytelling festival of its kind in the country,” said Vincent Bates, WSU’s storytelling festival chair and teacher education assistant professor. “More than 12,000 children attend the festival and hundreds prepare and tell stories in their respective school districts.”

This year’s festival will feature nationally renowned storytellers Donald Davis, Angela Lloyd, Bill Harley and Carmen Deedy. In addition, 70 students are chosen as storytellers and will participate alongside regionally and nationally recognized professional storytellers.

All of the storytellers bring their own style to their performances. Davis was born in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, where he grew up with a family of traditional storytellers. Both Lloyd and Harley incorporate song and music when they tell stories. Deedy has become well known for both her written and spoken stories.

“Our tellers are top-notch,” Bates said. “What is especially phenomenal is that audiences of all ages can enjoy the same story performance.”

WSU will host several events during the festival. All the events are free with the exception of the Feb. 23 fundraising dinner.

Feb. 23, noon – The annual Brown Bag Story Slam, an open-mic event where community members can share their own stories, will be held in the Shepherd Union Fireplace Lounge.

Feb. 23, 1:30 p.m. – A story symposium featuring Donald Davis will be held in the Stewart Library Hetzel-Hoellein Room.

Feb. 23, 6:30 p.m. Storytelling Festival Fundraiser Dinner, Timbermine Restaurant and Steak House, Ogden, by reservation only, call 801-626-7515, featuring Donald Davis, Carmen Deedy, Angela Lloyd and Bill Harley.

Feb. 24, 1:30 p.m. – Storyteller Bill Harley will perform at WSU Davis, Building 3 Ballroom.

Several other events will be held throughout the week in multiple locations in the Ogden area, including Peery’s Egyptian Theater, the Davis Conference Center, the Treehouse Museum and the Ogden Eccles Conference Center.

“Stories are powerful,” Bates said. “Storytelling performances are very engaging, and the stories have power to enliven the imagination to the degree that they are cherished in memory years afterward.”

For a complete list of festival events, visit weber.edu/storytelling.

Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.

Author:

Rachel Badali, Office of Marketing & Communications
801-626-7295 • rachelbadali@weber.edu

Contact:

Vincent Bates, storytelling festival chair
801-626-7222 • vincentbates@weber.edu