Storytelling Capital

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8 S T O R Y T E L L I N G R E N A I S S A N C E The First National Storytelling Festival In 1973, on a warm and sunny October day, Jonesborough residents rolled an old farm wagon into Courthouse Square for the first National Storytelling Festival. While the Festival was tiny, something happened that October weekend that has changed forever our culture, this traditional art form, and this Tennessee town. They were there, the storytellers. A former Arkansas congressman. A Tennessee banker. A college professor. A western North Carolina farmer. They told their tales, and they breathed life into the first National Storytelling Festival. And for the small group of people who During the first National Storytelling Festival, Ray Hicks stood on the back of an old farm wagon and belted out The Heifer Hide—an ancient tale from the Southern Appalachian Mountains he had learned as a child sitting on his grandfather’s knee. sat listening—in chairs, on the curbs, cross-legged on the grassy green—there was a bond, a special connection between us and all who live and have ever lived. There were stories about people we had never met, times we had never known, places we had never been. Yet for those few magical hours, we did know them, we did go there. The National Storytelling Festival, the first of its kind anywhere in the world, ignited a renaissance of storytelling that is, even today, continuing to sweep the globe, and transformed Jonesborough into the Storytelling Capital of the World. And now, people across America and the world are rediscovering the simplicity and basic truth of the told story. 2014–2015 Jonesborough Visitors Guide “More than anything else, the storytelling renaissance has been inspired by the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee.” — Michael McLeod, Readers Digest Photos: Fresh Air Photographics Barbara McBride- Smith (left), Michael Parent (above), and Jay O’Callahan (above right) are three nationally known tellers featured at the annual festival.
I G N I T E D I N J O N E S B O R O U G H A Season of Storytelling Opportunities National Storytelling Festival First Full Weekend Each October The annual National Storytelling Festival, held under colorful circus tents scattered throughout Jonesborough, showcases the world’s stories, storytellers, and storytelling traditions. The Festival features some two dozen acclaimed storytellers and attracts over 10,000 visitors every year. Storytelling Live! Teller-in-Residence Program May–October annually Twenty-six of America’s best-loved storytellers, one each week for twenty-six weeks, perform daily in a series of one-hour storytelling concerts at the Center’s state-of-the-art theater. Showtime is 2 p.m. daily, Tuesday through Saturday, with special evening and children’s performances. Telling Jonesborough’s Stories with the Monthly Jonesborough Yarn Exchange Jonesborough’s Community Storytelling Program celebrates what’s special about the town and its people through the stories we share. Helping Jonesborough residents harvest, craft, and share their stories, this one-of-a-kind program commemorates and honors Tennessee’s oldest town. The community’s stories have inspired the creation of story-based performances and programs that are presented at venues throughout the town. Come to the Center of the Story By visiting the International Storytelling Center, Jonesborough’s guests can capture the spirit of storytelling, secure information about the Center’s offerings, and browse in a shop filled with gifts, souvenirs, and storytelling resources. The Center campus is located in the heart of downtown Historic Jonesborough. Call 423-913-1276 or 800-952-8392 or visit storytellingcenter.net. © Peter Aaron/Esto Historic Jonesborough, Tennessee • historicjonesborough.com 9
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Page 29 and 30: DINING Amigo Mexican Restaurant 125
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