Connie is the featured storyteller at the first BLUE RIDGE STORYTELLING SUMMIT at the Center for Pioneer Life in Burnsville from 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday, June 22.
The Blue Ridge Storytelling Summit brings regional storytellers to perform live at the Center for Pioneer Life. Tour the 1850 luxury Cabin, enjoy beautiful views of Young’s Knob, and taste the delicious food of Los Cruces while you listen to rollicking, inspirational tales.
Start the day at 10 am with a workshop taught by storytellers Nancy Reeder and Sherry Lovett. Learn how to mine your memories for important stories to honor your heritage and loved ones.
Showcase storytellers include Sherry Lovett, Nancy Reeder, Wallace Shealy, Catherine Yael Serota, Chuck Fink, Lee Lyons, Larry Pearlman, Kanute Rarey and an open mic time, too. Connie will be closing out the day with a performance at 4 pm.
Plan now and get your tickets here!
Over 73 Storytellers will be sharing their performances and expertise!
National Storytelling Network Conference July 11-14, 2024 in Federal Way, Washington
The National Storytelling Network invites you – the storyteller and listener – to join us in four unique days of programming that encourages a perception of the future as one filled with opportunities, hope, and connection. While celebrating our roots and honoring the paths already traveled, we open a space to create, innovate, and imagine a world renewed. Register here!
Also there is the listing of programs available for the Virtual Ticket. The Virtual Ticket provides links to the live streamed programs. It is provided for those unable to attend the Conference in person and for those that attend the Conference for a single day and may miss programs. The cost of the Virtual Ticket is $75 and the recordings will be available for viewing on the NSN website for 60 days after the end of the Conference.
It’s time for the 97th Mountain Dance and Folk Festival® – the nation’s oldest continuously operating folk festival. One of Connie’s favorite Folk festivals and she encourages you to catch one of the shows.
Connie has performed there numerous times over the years and she and her cousin, Barbara Freeman were awarded PERFORMER OF THE YEAR. The festival is a celebration of the Southern Appalachians with musicians, dancers, and storytellers who are preserving the traditions of these Mountains. The traditions involve not only the hand-clapping, toe-tapping rhythms of Bluegrass, the style and stories of century-old ballads, the high energy of clogging, the elegance of Big Circle Mountain Smooth Dance, the fun and entertainment of storytelling, but also include an awareness of the hardships and trials that have brought us to this place and time. More information at: https://folkheritage.org/asheville-events/mountain-dance-and-folk-festival/ and https://folkheritage.org/
Every October since 1973, thousands of travelers have visited Tennessee’s oldest town. They come for one purpose–to hear stories and to tell them at the National Storytelling Festival.
This celebration of America’s rich and varied storytelling tradition, the oldest and most respected gathering anywhere in America devoted to
(Photo by: Tom Raymond)
storytelling, has in turn spawned a national revival of this venerable art. ISC is excited to welcome you to the storytelling capital of the world October 6-8, 2024 to celebrate the power of storytelling.
Connie Regan-Blake will be emceeing at the festival again this year! Come early to enjoy music festivals and workshops!🌟 Spend an Unforgettable Weekend with us at the Alleghany Highlands Story Fest 🌟
The 3rd Annual Alleghany Highlands Story Fest happening October 25-26 at the Historic Masonic Theatre in Clifton Forge, VA. Get ready for a weekend that promises to transport you to other worlds through the power of storytelling.
What to Expect:
A storytelling concert is a live, immersive experience where master storytellers take the stage to weave tales filled with humor, adventure, wisdom, and heart. As the lights dim and the first words are spoken, you’ll find yourself drawn into vivid worlds, where characters come to life and adventures unfold right before your eyes. Saturday morning there is also an opportunity to attend one of the in-person Master Class Workshops from 10am to 12pm, either Cooking up Stories with Connie Regan-Blake, or The Storyteller’s Gym with David Novak.
Featuring:
A stellar lineup of storytellers—Connie Regan-Blake, David Novak, Amanda Lawrence, Gwendolyn Poole, Nick Baskerville, and Shannon Hummel—will captivate you with their unique styles and compelling stories.
A special pre-show performance of down here by Cora Dance on Saturday evening at 6:30 PM providing an unforgettable blend of storytelling and movement that will set the stage for an evening of wonder. Be sure to arrive early to enjoy this special event before the storytelling concert!
Whether you’re a fan of folklore, personal narratives, or tales of humor and suspense, this opening night concert offers something for everyone. Don’t miss this chance to experience the age-old tradition of storytelling in a way that’s both timeless and refreshingly new.
🎟️ Secure your tickets now for a weekend of unforgettable stories that will leave you spellbound!
📅 Date: October 25-26
📍 Location: Historic Masonic Theatre, Clifton Forge, VA
Come for the stories—leave with memories. Get your tickets today!
The tickets for this even are showing as “sold out” because the show is postponed. Please check back here for the new date and time.
Get your tickets here! Curious about where this show is? You can watch it from anywhere! Connie will be featured on the Music My Mother Would Not Like – (BUT Stories she would love!) streaming concert series. There is a sliding scale for tickets!
Bruce the producer usually offers music shows. I am delighted he is making forays into the story world. Let’s help him see there is a great audience for this kind of listening. Tuesday, December 17th will be an evening of storytelling with Mary Anne “Aunt Mama” Moorman and Connie Regan-Blake.
A NOTE FROM BRUCE SWAN: Necessity to interact with an audience and the artists gave way to the creation of the generally weekly streamed showcase series called Music My Mother Would Not Like. It would be part radio, part concert, part interaction with and audience as well as musicians but full salvation.
The series began at the end of June in 2020 as an experiment. It was not even called weekly at that point. That simple title was much more than we could have fathomed. We planned five shows. After the third show, we added four more to take us through August, by August we added shows to take us through the end of the year. To date, the venue has produced over 170 shows, presented over 550 artists, viewed by over 10,000 people, and raised well over $140K that has been distributed to the performers and crew. There is no end date in sight.
The Amelia Island Festival of Stories & Songs takes place from January 31–February 2, 2025 at the Story & Song Centre for Arts and Culture in Fernandina Beach, Florida. The festival features a variety of storytelling styles and content, including spoken and musical storytelling, and performances from both local favorites and nationally known performers. The Festival Performers feature Rick Bragg, Bil Lepp, Jason Woods, Connie Regan-Blake, April Armstrong, Kevin Kling, Jon Vezner, Cora Newcomb, Diane Johnson, Mary Martha Greene, Karthi Masters, Lil’ Rev, Sam Cobean. The festival’s goals are to celebrate diversity, preserve history, and perpetuate important elements of the human experience.
Connie Regan-Blake is presenting a workshop on Friday morning called “Cooking Up Stories” that is open to all levels. Connie will also be performing Saturday at 2 pm for “Kitchen Talk” and Saturday evening at 7:30 pm at the Headliner Event. Read more about the festival in this news article.
Come enjoy Connie telling stories in a mini concert at Universalist Unitarian Church of Jacksonville, Florida before the service. She’ll also be sharing a “Challenging the Untrue Stores We Tell Ourselves” as part of the service. All are welcome.
The focus of this “Taking Your Story to the Stage” 3-day workshop is on storytelling performance. Each participant is asked to come with a story that is almost “stage-ready.” Participants gather at Connie’s home, tucked in the beautiful mountains surrounding Asheville, NC. This workshop intensive provides a supportive, affirming atmosphere to nurture each storyteller’s performance skills and confidence. “Taking Your Story to the Stage” is open only to those who have previously studied with Connie. If you have not had this opportunity and/or Connie has not heard you tell a story, a private coaching session may be required. Registration is limited so if you’d like to add your name to the list of participants now, contact Connie. For more details, click here.
And if you can’t make the workshop, mark your calendars now join us as
listeners for an enchanting evening of storytelling in “A Slice of Life: An Evening of Stories” on March 29, 2025 at Black Mountain Center for the Arts.