Special Events
Separate Ticket Required
Stories to Take Us Home with Donald Davis
October 2 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
$20Hear stories to remind us of people we’ve known, places we’ve been, and the messes we’ve gotten ourselves into.This evening concert is a special event held in the Library Tent...
Separate Ticket Required
Workshop – Storytelling for Caregivers with Megan Wells
October 3 @ 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
$95Caring for our loved ones through health challenges can be illuminating and exhausting. Stories can help. This workshop taps into their medicinal power to guide participants in drawing out stories...
Separate Ticket Required
Workshop – Laughter, Breath, Joy with Lyn Ford
October 3 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
$65Before there were words, our universal language was laughter. Sharing a laugh creates and strengthens human connections. Laughing alone energizes and relaxes the body and mind. With gentle breathing exercises,...
Separate Ticket Required
Workshop – Mapping Memories: Family Stories and Living Histories with Kim Weitkamp
October 3 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
$95Research has shown that gathering and knowing family stories helps build happy, resilient families. In this general interest workshop, you’ll learn simple ways to gather and share the stories of...
Marketplace
October 3 @ 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Visit the Festival’s store for official souvenirs, featured teller CDs, books, and more!
Separate Ticket Required
Workshop – Being Yourself on Stage with Josh Goforth
October 3 @ 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm
$95Telling your stories onstage can be daunting. The lights, the audience, the sound system, the expectations, the fear – these can all lead to an uncomfortable situation where it’s hard...
Wine & Beer Garden
October 3 @ 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Relax in the afternoon in the Festival’s Wine and Beer Garden, featuring a selection of wine and craft beers available for purchase. Sponsored by Holston Distributing and One Stop Wine...
Separate Ticket Required
An Evening with Wendy Liebman with opening by Tara Brown
October 3 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
$20Join us for a night of hilarity with Wendy Liebman, the woman HBO calls “a master of the one-liner with the subliminal afterthought.” Wendy has performed on Johnny Carson, David...
Marketplace
October 4 @ 8:30 am – 8:00 pm
Visit the Festival’s store for official souvenirs, featured teller CDs, books, and more!
Swappin’ Ground
October 4 @ 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm
At the first National Storytelling Festival in 1973, a handful of storytellers gathered around the courthouse in Jonesborough’s town square and traded tales. An old wagon served as the stage,...
Wine & Beer Garden
October 4 @ 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Relax in the afternoon in the Festival’s Wine and Beer Garden, featuring a selection of wine and craft beers available for purchase. Sponsored by Holston Distributing and One Stop Wine...
Exchange Place
October 4 @ 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Kelly Campos kellycampos.com Kelly Campos is a youth librarian in the south suburbs of Chicago. Born in Detroit, her story (up until now) has taken her from ballet to Second...
Separate Ticket Required
Ghost Stories
October 4 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
$10Janice Del Negro and Megan Wells joined by many other tellers in Mill Spring Park A long-standing Festival tradition, two nights of terror await you in these open-air, ground seating,...
Separate Ticket Required
After Hours with Kevin Kling & Simone Perrin
October 4 @ 9:30 pm – 10:45 pm
$20Put the Festival day to bed with this blend of story and song that’s sure to amuse and delight! Festival fan favorite Kevin Kling will partner with “accordionista” Simone Perrin...
Yoga in the Park
October 5 @ 8:00 am – 9:00 am
Start your Festival morning right with yoga in the park! Deborah Byrd is an RYT200 certified yoga instructor whose main practice and training are in vinyasa, yin, and hatha styles. Her...
Marketplace
October 5 @ 8:30 am – 8:00 pm
Visit the Festival’s store for official souvenirs, featured teller CDs, books, and more!
Swappin’ Ground
October 5 @ 9:00 am – 11:00 am
At the first National Storytelling Festival in 1973, a handful of storytellers gathered around the courthouse in Jonesborough’s town square and traded tales. An old wagon served as the stage,...
Behind Enemy Lines Legacy Series with Henry Langrehr
October 5 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
$20To help commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the International Storytelling Center is deeply honored to present a conversation with American hero Henry Langrehr. Now 99 years old, Langrehr left high...
Schoolhouse Stories
October 5 @ 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Oak Hill School Sabin Drive, next to the Library Tent Children must be accompanied by an adult This year schoolhouse stories will feature storytellers Jasmin Cardenas, Doug Elliott, and Angela...
Everything – Plus the Truth! Donald Davis and Sons
October 5 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
$20Donald Davis celebrates his 80th birthday year by sharing the stage with his children. Join Doug, Kelly, and Jonathan Davis for this candid and no-holds-barred interview with their father. Duration:...
Swappin’ Ground
October 5 @ 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
At the first National Storytelling Festival in 1973, a handful of storytellers gathered around the courthouse in Jonesborough’s town square and traded tales. An old wagon served as the stage,...
Wine & Beer Garden
October 5 @ 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Relax in the afternoon in the Festival’s Wine and Beer Garden, featuring a selection of wine and craft beers available for purchase. Sponsored by Holston Distributing and One Stop Wine...
Separate Ticket Required
Yarnspinners’ Party
October 5 @ 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
$150Celebrate, meet the National Storytelling Festival’s featured tellers, and enjoy great food and fellowship at the Yarnspinners’ Party on Saturday, October 5th from 5-7 p.m. at the Mary B. Martin...
Story Slam!
October 5 @ 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Join the fun as these Story Slam tellers compete for the best 5-minute story—content suitable for a general audience, age 13 and up. Sponsored by Deedy Bookings
Separate Ticket Required
Ghost Stories
October 5 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
$10Janice Del Negro and Megan Wells joined by many other tellers in Mill Spring Park A long-standing Festival tradition, two nights of terror await you in these open-air, ground seating,...
The Old Broad Bawdy Show
October 5 @ 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm
$15An evening of tastefully risqué and delightfully bawdy tales plucked from the annals of everyday life by two of your favorite old broads. Held in the International Storytelling Center Theater....
Separate Ticket Required
After Hours with Kevin Kling & Simone Perrin
October 5 @ 9:30 pm – 10:45 pm
$20Put the Festival day to bed with this blend of story and song that’s sure to amuse and delight! Festival fan favorite Kevin Kling will partner with “accordionista” Simone Perrin...
Yoga in the Park
October 6 @ 8:00 am – 9:00 am
Start your Festival morning right with yoga in the park! Deborah Byrd is an RYT200 certified yoga instructor whose main practice and training are in vinyasa, yin, and hatha styles. Her...
Marketplace
October 6 @ 8:30 am – 5:00 pm
Visit the Festival’s store for official souvenirs, featured teller CDs, books, and more!
Behind Enemy Lines Legacy Series with Henry Langrehr
October 6 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
$20To help commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the International Storytelling Center is deeply honored to present a conversation with American hero Henry Langrehr. Now 99 years old, Langrehr left high...
