Calendar

Nov
22
Sun
VIRTUAL – (Available until Dec 1): Tellabration! @ Asheville Storytelling Circle
Nov 22 – Dec 1 all-day

VIRTUAL: Connie Regan-Blake is our featured storyteller for this international celebration of storytelling, known as Tellabration! which serves to build grassroots community support for the age-old art of storytelling. Since its beginning in 1988, this annual observance has grown into one of the most impressive collective events in the history of the modern storytelling revival.  Joining Connie are storytellers Wayne and Jane Sims, Sherry Lovett, Wallace Shealy, with Catherine Yael Seroda Shealy emceeing the celebration. The Honorable Esther Manheimer, Mayor of Asheville, has declared November 22 Tellabration! day in the city of Asheville. Join us for a warm and wonderful two hours of story enchantment! One ticket lets the whole family view the show and you can access the program anytime from 3p.m. on Sunday, November 22 until Saturday, November 28.  Register now.

Sponsored by Asheville Storytelling Circle and the National Storytelling Network

Aug
2
Mon
Virtual – ASST (Artists Standing Strong Together) Program @ Zoom viz ASST
Aug 2 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Artists Standing Strong Together (ASST, www.artistsstandingstrongtogether.net) meets every Monday, 4-5:30 pm (EDT), and is open and free to all. During these meetings many creative topics are presented. Connie Regan-Blake is featured during this session telling about her collection of storytelling memorabilia the Library of Congress.

Oct
1
Fri
Virtual: 49th Annual National Storytelling Festival @ International Storytelling Center
Oct 1 – Oct 3 all-day
Virtual: 49th Annual National Storytelling Festival @ International Storytelling Center | Jonesborough | Tennessee | United States

You can attend from anywhere in the world and hear some of the finest storytellers around including a story from Connie at the VIRTUAL 49th annual National Storytelling Festival!

On a warm October weekend in 1973 the first National Storytelling Festival was held in historic Jonesborough, TN. Hay bales and wagons were the stages, and audience and tellers together didn’t number more than 60. It was intimate, but something happened that weekend that forever changed our culture, this traditional art form, and the little Tennessee town.

Connie was a founding member of this organization that became the center of an ever-widening movement that continues to gain momentum to this day. Storytelling organizations, festivals, and educational events have popped up all over the world. Teachers, healthcare workers, therapists, corporate executives, librarians, spiritual leaders, parents, and others regularly make storytelling a vibrant part of their everyday lives and work.

See International Storytelling Center for tickets and more info.

A message from the National Storytelling Festival:
ISC has been monitoring national, regional, and local COVID-19 trends since announcing our intention to hold an in-person event this fall in Jonesborough, TN. After consulting CDC guidelines and Northeast Tennessee’s Regional Health Department, we at ISC do not believe we can hold an in-person festival without placing our patrons, storytellers, staff, and volunteers at an unacceptable level of risk. While we’re sad that we won’t meet in Jonesborough this year, our top priority is keeping everyone safe and healthy so we can look forward to celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Festival next year.

Oct
7
Fri
50th Annual National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN @ International Storytelling Center
Oct 7 – Oct 9 all-day

Plan now to attend the 50th annual National Storytelling Festival! Connie Regan-Blake is performing and has the distinct pleasure of being on stage for all 49 Festivals so far.

On a warm October weekend in 1973 the first National Storytelling Festival was held in historic Jonesborough, TN. Hay bales and wagons were the stages, and audience and tellers together didn’t number more than 60. It was intimate, but something happened that weekend that forever changed our culture, this traditional art form, and the little Tennessee town.

Connie is giving a special featured storytelling performance From Another Time: Celebrating the Legacy of Ray Hicks at 4pm Saturday, October 8th in the Library Tent – We have been looking up to him from the beginning . . . the lanky 6’ 7’’ man of the mountains, who came out into the world, bearing old-world gifts that have enriched modern lives beyond measure. Connie Regan-Blake first met Ray Hicks on October 14, 1973, in Jonesborough, Tennessee. It was an afternoon that changed her life . . . and the course of storytelling in the United States. The setting was the first National Storytelling Festival. Come listen to stories of how Ray became the face of traditional Appalachian mountain storytelling along with Connie’s personal reflections on her long friendship with the Hicks family.

See International Storytelling Center for tickets and more info.

Oct
5
Thu
National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN @ International Storytelling Center
Oct 5 – Oct 8 all-day

Plan now to attend the National Storytelling Festival! Connie Regan-Blake is emceeing on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and has the distinct pleasure of being on stage for all the Festivals so far. Choose from one, two, and three day ticket options.

On a warm October weekend in 1973 the first National Storytelling Festival was held in historic Jonesborough, TN. Hay bales and wagons were the stages, and audience and tellers together didn’t number more than 60. It was intimate, but something happened that weekend that forever changed our culture, this traditional art form, and the little Tennessee town.

Come early for the pre-festival events featuring singer/songwriter Mary Gauthier who weaves stories throughout her songs on Thursday night. Pre-festival events are ticketed separately here.

See International Storytelling Center for tickets and more info.