Southern Ohio Storytelling Festival

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The Southern Ohio Storytelling Festival is an annual event held on the Friday and Saturday after Labor Day in Chillicothe, Ohio. Local, regional and nationally known storytellers are invited to perform their favorite stories for thousands of school children and storytelling enthusiasts. This non-profit organization is directed by a board of community members.

1 History
2 The Festival
3 See also
4 External links and references

[edit] History

The history of storytelling in this region extends back to the Native American. Shawnee and Mingo tribes that inhabited southern Ohio and maintained their history through stories passed down from generation to generation. The pioneers who established communities in the same area brought with them the stories of their ancestors even as they created their own. The travelers, and those who helped them, along the Underground Railroad encouraged one another with their stories of hope as they passed through this area. The Southern Ohio Storytelling Festival continues this oral tradition through the sharing of stories by both professional and amateur storytellers. The festival was spearheaded by a local storyteller, Bill McKell, who had visited many festivals, including the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. With no similar regional festivals in Ohio, the potential for bringing this cultural event to the historic city, the first-captital of Ohio, was made possible through the work of many community members and regional storytelling organizations. The festival began in 2004.

[edit] The Festival

The festival takes place in a variety of locations throughout Chillicothe, including the historic Majestic Theatre and the Bennett Hall auditorium and Shoemaker Center gymnasium at the Ohio University Chillicothe Branch. Over a thousand students from local schools come to hear the storytellers during the school day on Friday. During the evening and all day Saturday, the festival is moved to the downtown area in the Majestic Theater. Participants are also encouraged to share their own stories at a stage with an open microphone set up in the courtyard next to the theater.

Past performers include Bill Harley, Carmen Agra Deedy, Elizabeth Ellis, Connie Regan-Blake, Sheila Kay Adams, Bobby Norfolk, Bil Lepp, Antonio Rocha, Len Cabral, Kate Long, Lyn Ford, Kevin Cordi, Rick Carson, Michael Kasony-O'Malley, Bill McKell, and Jim Flanagan.