Sheila Arnold Jones, master storyteller from Virginia, is the featured teller for the 8th Annual White Mountain Storytelling Festival (WMSF) to be held Thursday to Sunday, September 13 to 16 at Plymouth State University(PSU) Produced by the New Hampshire Storytelling Alliance (NHSA), partnering for the first time with PSU, the event will bring together more than a dozen experienced storytellers to share their tales throughout the weekend.
Storytelling concerts for all ages are planned, beginning with a Thursday evening Story Slam, a first-time event for WMSF. Admission is free for PSU students; $5 for the general public. A Ghost Story Concert on Friday evening at 7:30 pm is free to everyone, as is the final week-end event, Sacred Tales at 9am on Sunday morning.
In between, Saturday’s schedule includes two back-to-back concerts at 10 a.m.: New Hampshire Talkers by Rebecca Rule, Northwood, and a guest; and a Children’s Concert by Simon Brooks, New London.
At 11:15 a.m., Raising Our Voices will feature Lauretta Phillips, Andover, and Vicky Dworkin, Sandwich; along with Barbara Aliprantis, Flushing, NY; and Nina LeSiga, Stratford, CT.
The featured teller, Sheila Arnold Jones, will present a family concert at 2:30 p.m. Then at 4 p.m. New Hampshire tellers, Simon Brooks and Papa Joe Gaudet, will join Andrea Kamens and Joyce Sabato, both of Massachusetts, and Mike Lockett, Illinois, in a concert also appropriate for a family audience. Jones will be featured again at a 7:30 p.m. concert for an adult audience.
Other tellers who may be heard telling ghost stories on Friday, sacred tales on Sunday, or emceeing a concert include Pearl Munroe and John Sanders, both of Nashua; Ruth Niven, Franklin; Mark Chamberlain, Barrington; Sharon Wood, Claremont, and Massachusetts tellers, Jen Agel and Joey Talbert.
All events are free to PSU students presenting their college ID. Tickets for the general public for Saturday festival events may be purchased individually for specific concerts or for the Festival as a whole. The NH Storytelling Alliance website at http://nhstorytelling.org/festival lists ticket prices. Registration may be done online or at the Festival. For more information contact Lauretta Phillips at events@nhstorytelling.org or (603) 735-5965.