Festival tents in Historic Jonesborough, Tennessee
The National Storytelling Festival, produced by the International Storytelling Center, is the largest and most prestigious storytelling event in the world, and one that ignited the modern-day storytelling revival in America. In our age of fast-moving technology, it seems unlikely that thousands of audience members could spend a weekend mesmerized by the voices of storytellers. But that’s exactly what happens in Jonesborough, Tennessee, every year during the first weekend in October.
Storyteller Kevin Locke at the National Storytelling Festival
“The trance came over the crowd without anyone being aware. A man’s iPod ear buds dangled, unused, around his neck. Potato chip bags lay untouched in teenagers’ laps. Two thousand people sat in folding chairs under a huge white tent, utterly still, listening.”
—The Atlanta Journal Constitution
The National Storytelling Festival began in 1973 when 60 people came to hear a few Appalachian tales from the back of a hay wagon parked beside the town courthouse. In the decades since, those 60 people have grown to more than 10,000, and the hay wagon has been replaced by large, circus-like tents raised throughout the town. Those first mountain tales are now juxtaposed with an array of traditional, personal and contemporary stories from around the globe, spiked with the flair of poetry, blues, and ballads. The Festival encompasses a wealth of cultures, traditions and styles – a world of stories within one, historic town.
“From inside these tents, some of the world’s most gifted storytellers paint—with words and music— portraits of comic anecdotes and tragic occurrences. They share with their audiences stories from personal experiences, as well as tales relayed to them through multiple generations.”
—Cooking with Paula Deen
Storyteller Joseph Bruchac
In venues ranging from an intimate theater setting to tents that seat 1500, festival attendees are treated to compelling performances from over 30 world-class tellers. These audience members include people from all walks of life, from all over the world.
As people the world over have rediscovered the simplicity and basic truth of a well-told tale, the Festival has become the flagship of a national movement that celebrates the rich history of American storytelling and the talebearers who share their stories. Its impact on storytelling as a major art form is acknowledged worldwide. And its impact on a small, rural town – now known as the storytelling capital of the world – is equally significant.
The town of Jonesborough is tucked away near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Tennessee’s oldest town offers historic charm and small-town hospitality – a storybook setting for three days of storytelling festivities. This picturesque place is where the storytelling revival began, and where thousands return each year for the time-honored tradition of hearing – and sharing – stories at the National Storytelling Festival.
”Storytelling is…like a giant secret being whispered faster and faster…And eventually, say people who’ve discovered the secret, you come to Jonesborough. What New Orleans is to jazz. . . Jonesborough is to storytelling.”
—The Los Angeles Times
Storyteller Brenda Wong Aoki
Storyteller Brother Blue
Since the National Storytelling Festival began 42 years ago, people the world over are rediscovering the simplicity and basic truth of a well-told tale. The Festival has become the flagship of a national movement that celebrates the rich history of American storytelling and the talebearers who share their stories.
Come to the Center of the Story Find your story at the 2015 National Storytelling Festival, October 2–4, 2015 in Historic Jonesborough, Tennessee. Visit www.storytellingcenter.net now for information and tickets.
“Some stories seem to be made out of whole cloth. Others are like the Tennessee quilts on sale in Jonesborough’s many craft shops. They weave together past, present, fact and fiction in a tight design both dazzling and unforgettable.”
—Smithsonian
Storytellers' Quilt created in 2012 to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the National Storytelling Festival.
A letter from Festival founder Jimmy Neil Smith to storyteller Connie Regan in 1973, extending an invitation to share a story.
From the Collection of Storyteller Connie Regan-Blake, Library of Congress.
Ghosts and gnomes and creepy things fill two nights of fright at the National Storytelling Festival’s popular Ghost Story concerts, held on Friday and Saturday nights of the annual festival.
“As night fell, many people put on sweaters against the evening nip and set up blankets beside a glowing park gazebo to hear renowned tellers share ghost stories. The park was lit with tiki torches. A drooping willow tree cast spindly shadows. A creek gurgled nearby. I dare you to design a better ghost story venue.” –Chicago Tribune (2013)
In the early years of the National Storytelling Festival, the Ghost Stories were told in the Jonesborough cemetery where Kathryn Windham’s stories, featuring her family’s personal ghost, Jeffrey, were a favorite.
The International Storytelling Center, producer of the National Storytelling Festival, brings storytelling to Jonesborough in other ways, too. The May through October “Storytelling Live!” series presents a different storyteller every week for Tuesday–Saturday matinee performances and special workshops, children’s shows, and evening concerts. The Storytelling Theater in Mary B. Martin Storytelling Hall on Main Street, provides an intimate setting for both Storytelling Live and Festival theater performances.
The National Storytelling Festival is the International Storytelling Center’s signature program, but ISC is also active on the global stage, fulfilling its mission to enrich the lives of people around the world through the arts of storytelling. The Center’s goal is to inspire and empower people everywhere to capture and tell their stories, listen to the stories of others, and use storytelling to produce positive change.
Featured Teller List 2015
International Storytelling Center
Design/Image Preparation - Hillhouse Graphic Design
