Williams Library Discovery Center: Events

Storytelling Festival September 2015 Featuring Irania Patterson

Irania Patterson is an award–winning author, playwright, and seasoned storyteller. She is a native of Venezuela, is a dynamic and versatile performer who works with audiences of all ages. She has served as a consultant for many cultural organizations in the area of literature, education and the performing arts. Her bilingual children’s picture book Chipi Chipis, Small Shells of the Sea/Chipi Chipi Caracolitos del Mar (CPCC Press 2006) was an International Reading Association Children’s Choice Award for 2006. She is the author of Wings and Dreams: The Legend of Angel Falls. (Novello Press 2010). She is also a co-author of the bilingual musical play Mama Goose, adapted for the stage from the Alma Flor Ada original Mama Goose.

Storytelling Festival September 2014 Featuring Joseph Brucac

"For over thirty years Joseph Bruchac has been creating poetry, short stories, novels, anthologies and music that reflect his Abenaki Indian heritage and Native American traditions.
   He is the author of more than 120 books for children and adults. The best selling Keepers of the Earth: Native American Stories and Environmental Activities for Childrenand others of his “Keepers” series, with its remarkable integration of science and folklore, continue to receive critical acclaim and to be used in classrooms throughout the country."

Read more about Joseph Bruchac at http://josephbruchac.com/.

Storytelling Festival September 17-20, 2013 Featuring Ron Jones

I grew up on a dairy farm in North Carolina in a whole family of storytellers. After twenty-eight years as a library administrator and consultant, for the past ten years I been sharing stories with audiences of all ages. From traditional folktales to bilingual English/Spanish stories to original tales and legends- I strive to take audiences on an animated and high energy ride! My series of family stories are meant to make you laugh with joy or tug at your heart strings and everything between.

As a storyteller I believe strongly in the rich oral tradition of storytelling and the joy and mindfulness it brings to us all. I have performed in schools, libraries, museums, and at festivals throughout the southeast and in Canada and Mexico.

Seventeenth Annual Storytelling Festival September 18-21, 2012 Featuring Jim Weiss

Jim travels extensively throughout the United States, giving live performances at bookstores, libraries, schools and community events. He has hosted and starred in a PBS television pilot that won a Northern California Emmy for "Best Children's Show" and has even performed at THE WHITE HOUSE Annual Easter Event. As a storyteller, Jim's performances have been described as exciting and enchanting. His connection to his audience is magnetic and interactive, proof positive that storytelling today rejuvenates one of the first and most personal forms of entertainment. Adults and children alike leave the performance feeling that they really have met characters from a wide range of classic literature and folk tales. Jim's presentations garner heightened respect for the art of storytelling and the literature itself.

Storytelling Festival with Donna Washington 2011

The Storytelling Festival, a week long celebration held early in the fall, traditionally features faculty, students, parents, and alumni as well as a national storyteller. All school divisions participate in this event. Funding for this event comes from the Parents’ Association and from the Lucy Cutler Memorial Fund. Past storytellers include Carole Regan Blake, John McCutcheon, Len Cabral, Bill Harley, Charlotte Blake Alston, Donald Davis, Poetry Alive, Chris Hannibal, and Jim Weiss