2nd Annual St. John's Storytelling Festival Gets Set to Tell Tales

(PRWEB) October 11, 2005

After the enthusiastic response to its first storytelling festival, the St. Johns Folk Arts Council is back with a larger, longer and now an international storytelling festival. This years festival will continue to celebrate the storytelling traditions of Newfoundland, Labrador and Canada, but will welcome as well storyteller Ray McGrath from Ireland. The festival includes a special childrens performance, two workshops for emerging tellers, an open mic evening of recitations, an afternoon of epic tales, a panel discussion on storytelling and the ballad tradition followed by an evening of ballads and story songs, and three special storytelling concerts.

Featured performers include: Ray McGrath of Waterford, Ireland; Mariella Bertelli, originally from Italy, now of Toronto; Jan Andrews of Ottawa; Alan Buchanan of Belfast, PEI. Newfoundland and Newfoundland-based performers include Elinor Benjamin of Corner Brook; Mark Cormier of Cape St. George, Port-au-Port; Alice Lannon of Placentia; Mildred Dohey of St. Brides; Ford Elms and Kiersten Hill of St. Johns; Stan Nochasak, originally from Nain, now of St. Johns; Darka Erdelji and Soup Theatre, originally from Slovenia, now of St. Johns; Ron Hynes, Anita Best and Pat Byrne of St. Johns; and hosts Dale Jarvis, Mary Fearon, Jean Hewson and Chris Brookes.

The festival begins Wednesday, November 2nd with a special Folk Nite at the Ship Pub featuring Anita Best, Pat Byrne and Ron Hynes, in a discussion of storytelling and the song tradition; the discussion will be moderated by Jean Hewson. The panel discussion runs from 7 to 9 p.m. After the discussion, Anita, Pat and Ron will be the featured performers for Folk Nite. Folk Nite begins at 9:30 p.m.

Thursday, November 3rd, the St. Johns Storytelling Circle holds an evening of open mic recitations at the Crows Nest with host Chris Brookes and a special visit from Bill Marshall and his victrola. The fun begins at 8 pm. Come with a recitation you want to share, long or short, funny or sad, rhyming or not!

November 4th to 6th, there will be evening storytelling concerts at the Masonic Temple on Cathedral Street. Enjoy these special stories of mysteries and monsters (Friday night), home and humour (Saturday night) or transformations and turning points (Sunday night). All performances begin at 8 pm for a full listing of performers for each night, visit the St. John’s Folk Arts Council website at: http://www.sjfac.nf.net.

Daytime programming includes a special Saturday morning performance for children featuring stories and puppetry, and a Sunday afternoon concert of epic tales.

Workshops for emerging tellers will be offered Saturday afternoon (by Jan Andrews) and Sunday morning (by Ray McGrath). Space is limited for these workshops; please pre-register with the St. Johns Folk Arts Council.

The first week of November will be a special week for storytelling across Canada. In Vancouver, the 14th Annual Vancouver International Storytelling Festival gets underway and in Ottawa, the Ottawa Storytelling Festival happens this weekend.

Special advance passes for the St. Johns Storytelling Festival are available for $ 30 you can gain entry to all events except the workshops. Buy your passes at OBriens Music Store or Bennington Gate.

For more information about tellers, prices for performances and age appropriateness of performances, or to register for workshops, please visit the St. Johns Folk Arts Councils website at: http://www.sjfac.nf.net or call the office at (709) 576-8508.

The festival is made possible through the kind support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Irish Newfoundland Partnership.

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