The DO TELL Story: Who are and who we serve!
‘The shortest distance between one person and another is their story.’ Rumi
The Purpose of DO TELL STORYFEST:
To promote the art of storytelling through performance, participation, and education.
Why Hendersonville? Storytelling is a tradition of our county and area.
Why Storytelling? When we know another’s story, we understand each other. When we understand one another, we help and accept others.
DO TELL Storyfest is dedicated to:
- Encourage excellence in performance
- Local performers and local audiences
- Training a young generation of tellers
- Taking storytelling to children, especially those at risk
- Paying performers for their work
- Diversity in performers, stories, and location
Volunteers & donations: We welcome volunteers who would like to work on our committee year round, or just for a month, or on the day of the festival. We need all skill levels and welcome all. We practice diversity and openness throughout our organization. Donations of goods, services, or money are welcome and are tax deductible as we are a partner of 4-H and the Heritage Museum. Contact festival director via Email or by phone, 828 388 0247.
Educational Components:
- Free programs for kids: 'Just Imagine' is a free program of stories for kids 3-10. It will be at the Arts Council, 2nd floor, 6th and Main Street. 10-11:30a and 1-2:30p at the Storyfest July 10, 2010. See our schedule for more details.
- Children at Risk: We will be taking storytellers into Bruce Drysdale and Hendersonville Elementary Schools, as well as into the Henderson County Summer Camp program at Stoney Mountain and Edneyville Community. This is our effort to educate and entertain the next generation of children as listeners and perhaps tellers. This component is funded by the Henderson County Arts Council Artist in Schools Program.
- Training Teens: Since January, we have been working with a group of teenagers who are learning the art of storytelling. The teacher is a volunteer, and the teens are also 4-Hers. The program is open to anyone, of any age, who is interested in the art form. The teen Do Tell Storytellers will be performing at schools, summer camps and at the Do Tell Festival. We need to develop the next generation of tellers. This component is supported by Henderson County 4-H, the students and their families.
- Public Programs: We offer programs from 20-60 minutes for civic and community groups as both education and entertainment. We request an honorarium be given to support our on-going education program and festival.
We thank Our Sponsors from the bottoms of our hearts.
To date they are: Henderson County’s Arts Council, Travel & Tourism, Heritage Museum, Asheville Storytelling Circle, NC Storytelling Guild, and many of the businesses in downtown Hendersonville. We need more financial support and more volunteers to make the festival happen again. We want it to benefit the people of the area and the economy of our county. There are no paid staff or committee members. All our work is voluntary because we love storytelling!
Once upon a time...
I dreamed of seeing great folks listening to great stories in my hometown. The Do Tell Storytelling Festival came about one morning when I was having coffee with friends. I had recently moved back to Hendersonville after 25 years away. I had been living in the UK, where I had been a performing storyteller for 6 years. During that time I had been in a number of festivals and had run a festival or two in London. I had always thought that Hendersonville would be a perfect venue for storytelling for the public. It is part of our Appalachian heritage and tradition; and we know that everyone loves listening to stories.
I shared my vision for a day long festival with some friends over coffee, then I crazily committed to put on a storytelling afternoon as a way to celebrate 100 years of 4-H in NC in July 2009. One thing led to another as people began to pitch in with me to make it happen. I began writing budgets, asking groups for money, applying for grants and booking tellers. In July 2009, the late, great folklorist Louise Bailey opened our 1st downtown festival with a bang. Over 300 people arrived to hear stories at the beautiful historic courthouse and in venues along Main Street. Over a dozen performers spun stories that inspired, entertained and moved folks to laughter and tears. DO TELL was born!
Today, we are preparing for our 2nd festival. The coffee group has expanded into a very efficient volunteer committee and we have been meeting monthly to plan and organize the festival. We all have a great deal of passion and interest in making it happen. No one on the committee is paid. We need the help, support and financial assistance of many groups. This year we must charge a small admission price to cover costs of PR, artists’ fees, rent, and administration. It’s still a better value to see 3 hours of storytelling than a movie! We have a great line up of tellers and I am sure the entire day will be very entertaining.
Karen-Eve Bayne,
Do Tell Festival Director,
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