Published: October 15, 2009 11:22 pm      

Meridian’s First Storytelling Festival

Would you like to be part of a memory-making, historic event? Well, load up granny and the kids, and head for The Meridian Activities Center on Saturday, October 24. The local storytelling chapter, Tall Tales & Recollections, plan to host their first storytelling festival with tellers from across the state, Alabama, and local tellers, too. The day begins at 10:00 am and will conclude at 5:00 PM for the regular stories (children and adult stories).  After a two hour break, it will be time for Scary Stories from 7-9:00 PM. This will be an indoor event at The Meridian Activities Center as well.

This festival would not be possible without the generous support of the City of Meridian and The Meridian Activities Center, Director Barbara Wells. Barbara has been onboard with great excitement since we (Tall Tales & Recollections) first discussed the idea with her.  As our local storytelling chapter compared notes with other groups from around Mississippi and Alabama, we soon realized the first hurtle (a place to hold the festival), was usually the most difficult, but we soon learned that we would be supplied with a place by the City of Meridian through the Meridian Activities Center. Thank you to Barbara and our city!

You know this, but just as a review, I must tell you the significance of storytelling. It is the ancient art of conveying events in words, images, and sounds often by improvisation or embellishment. Storytelling existed as long as humanity has had language. Every culture has its storytellers, and in Mississippi – well, the stories seem richer and more deeply heartfelt, perhaps, more so than any other place on the Universe!

As Wikipedia, The Free Online Encyclopedia explained: Over thousands of years, stories have been carved, scratched, painted and inked onto wood or bamboo, ivory and bones, pottery, clay tablets, stone, palm-leaf books, skins (parchment), bark cloth, paper, silk canvas and other textiles, and now during the last few years of technical advances, stories are recorded on film stored electronically in digital form. Even some complex forms of tattooing tell a story.

It has seemed the favored manner of storytelling is by the oral tradition – passed down through the families, generation by generation.

So, come out on Saturday, October 24, to experience the full gambit of storytelling, except, maybe, the tattoo storytelling “thingy” – not too sure if that will be going on, but come to enjoy and support a first time storytelling event sponsored by Tall Tales & Recollections Storytellers of Meridian.

Here are the details:

Tall Tales & Recollections presents Meridian’s First Fall Storytelling Festival

Saturday, October 24, 2009

The Meridian Activities Center, 3300 – 32 Avenue, Meridian, MS

 

STORIES ALL DAY – 10:00 am to 5 PM  ** See children’s stories listed below.

Adults and children (ages five and up.)

$10.00 for full day

$5.00 for half day

FREE – Children under 12 (MUST be accompanied by an adult.)

Chili, hot dogs, chips, cookies, soft drinks available to buy on site (Please do not bring food with you.)

 

SCARY STORIES (after a two hour break)

7-9:00 PM.

$5.00 per person

FREE for children under 12 (Must be accompanied by an adult.)

 

For more information: call (601) 485-1812, (601), 485-7778, or (601) 681-8525.

 

Here is the schedule for the day/night – (subject to change):

 

10:00 am OPENING REMARKS:  Sarah Mutziger and Anne McKee

10:05 Terrence Roberts, Meridian Storyteller

10:30  Telling Trees Storytellers, Stone County, Mississippi: Kathryn Lewis, Daisha Walker, Nancilee Bodine, Lisa Courtney

11:00 Ruby Yarbrough, Meridian Storyteller

11:30 James Smith, Autoharp musician, Huntsville, AL

12:00 – 1:00 LUNCH BREAK (Homemade chili, hot dogs, cookies, chips, soft drinks

available at snack bar)

Music by Richelle Putnam, Meridian

 

1:00 (STORIES RESUME)

1:00 Diane Williams, Jackson MS Storyteller

1:30  Bruce Walker, President of the Alabama Storytelling Association

2:00 Jannice Pool, Dulcimer Musician and Alabama Storyteller

 

2:15 BREAK

 

2:30  Anne McKee, Meridian Storyteller (Historic Meridian stories, Dunn’s Falls, The Old Meridian Opera House, The Flying Key Brothers.)

3:15   Spoken Word Tellers, Lisa Mercer, Meridian

 

3:30 BREAK

 

3:45  June Davidson, Meridian Storyteller, (Historic Meridian story, The Gypsy Queen.)

4:00  Barry McMullan, Meridian Storyteller (War Stories)

4:15   Ward Calhoun, Lauderdale County Archives Director

4:15  Sarah Mutziger, Meridian Storyteller  (Crossing Boc Chitto – a Choctaw story.)

 

4:45 CLOSING REMARKS

 

5-7:00 PM (ON YOUR OWN DINNER BREAK)

 

7-9:00 PM  SCARY STORIES —  Bruce Walker, Terrence Roberts, Fonda Rush, Richelle Putnam, June Davidson, Sarah Mutziger and Anne McKee.

 

** CHILDREN’S STORIES (Located in the special children’s storytelling room.)

1:30 – 2:00  Nancee Greer, Meridian Storyteller

2:30-3:15 Brenda Pritchett, Columbus Storyteller

3:15-3:30 Beth Russell and Carol Nason, Meridian Storytellers

3:45 – 4:15 Ava Thomas, Alabama Storyteller

As you can no doubt notice, there have been tremendous efforts made to bring this first storytelling event to Meridian, especially, Sarah Mutziger, June Davidson, and several others. It is our hope to continue the storytelling tradition for our little corner of the world, right here in Meridian Mississippi, and that includes YOU!

Keep a Mississippi story in your heart!



Anne McKee is a writer and storyteller. She lives in Meridian. Anne is listed on the Mississippi Artist Roster, sponsored by Mississippi Arts Commission, as a dramatic and literary artist, storyteller, and as a Teaching Artist. She is active with the arts and educational communities throughout Mississippi.