About the Festival

The Weber Storytelling Festival is one of a select few storytelling festivals in the nation organized and maintained through a university/community partnership. During the three-day main festival in late February, we feature some of the best national storytellers, our wonderful Utah storytellers, and youth storytellers from local school districts, charter schools, and home schools. Local school districts, especially, have been vital in supporting and sustaining the festival through nearly three decades.

On Festival mornings, a conference format of concurrent sessions allows listeners to select from a variety of storytelling genres and is open to the general public. Field trips are arranged for classes or schools. Afternoon workshops, seminars and story presentations are available. Some of these events are aimed at university students, faculty and staff, but others are open to all. These events meet on the WSU campus. Likewise, outreach story concerts are held at area schools. National storytellers present their superlative tales at events scheduled for each evening of the festival including family-oriented story concerts and a special fund-raising banquet.

Events are held at a variety of locations throughout the community, including local schools and libraries, The Children’s Treehouse Museum, and Weber State University Main Campus and Davis Campus. 

This award-winning Festival is nationally recognized for its emphasis on youth storytellers who perform their stories on stage with practicing professionals. Children prepare stories in their schools and are selected by their school districts to participate in the Festival.

The Festival has been honored with the Utah Association of Teacher Educators’ Distinguished Project Award, as well as a recipient of Weber State University’s Exemplary Collaboration Award, and a Community Service Award from the Utah Association for Gifted Children, and the National Storytelling Network’s Oracle Award.

The Festival is managed by a non-profit volunteer organization housed in the University’s Department of Teacher Education. It consists of an executive board and steering committee made up of members of the Ogden community, five local school districts (Davis, Morgan, Ogden, Weber, and Salt Lake City), and representatives of Weber State University.

The Festival is a project sponsored by the University and the Department of Teacher Education, the participating school districts and generous members of the community making it possible to offer Festival events free of charge (except for the Storytelling Festival Banquet.)

The mission of the Weber State University Storytelling Festival is to promote the art of storytelling in Northern Utah.

1. Provide the opportunity for creative expression, enjoyment and pleasure through storytelling;
2. Encourage the sharing of community histories, traditions, talents, and ethnic cultures of Utah;
3. Promote literacy in participating school districts through the art of storytelling.
4. Enhance other programs and activities of the University.

Storytelling Festival events are FREE of CHARGE except the Storytelling Festival Dinner on Tuesday evening.