International Storytelling Center, Tennessee, United States

5OrlandoMLB 5:00 PM Oct 12, 2006

Story Telling in the Mountains of Tennessee
Our third trip to the National Story Telling Festival, held every October, in Jonesborough TN was better than ever! [--] The town of Jonesborough is filled with interesting folks in October, and most likely all year round! The Story Telling Festival is pure fun. There is great food, great weather, shopping, and wonderful people. What does one do at this festival? Well, there are "tellers" and "listeners". The listeners choose from 5 concurrent "tellers", pick a tent, listen for an hour and laugh and cry and enjoy. In this age of digital media, storytelling is difficult to describe, but well worth your consideration. Check it out. You will be glad that you did.

5Deb R 5:00 PM Oct 7, 2014

My favorite event of the year!
I just attended my 23rd National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough. A friend invited me to the first one and I went not knowing what it was all about. If you had told me before going that I would sit for 10-12 hours per day for 2 1/2 days, in a crowded tent, on plastic folding chairs, with 10,000 people, sometimes suffering nearly unbearable heat or rain or freezing temperatures just to listen to stories, I would have told you you were crazy! HOWEVER, I was hooked from the very beginning and have not missed a year since my first festival. It is so hard to describe what storytelling is all about - you have to experience it for yourself to really understand. But it is a total escape from reality for nearly 3 glorious days - escapes to reliving childhood experiences with tellers who grew up in Appalachia to travels around the world to stories that have been passed down through generations of Native Americans to hearing tall tales told so that you think they are true no matter how incredulous to incredible music of all kinds - and more. The stories take you through the gamut of emotions - laughing until you cry, crying until you are spent, feeling love and joy - just feeling. The town of Jonesborough itself is an escape from reality with its Main Street lined with buildings that don't look as though they have changed since the Civil War! The street is blocked off to traffic during the festival and the sidewalks are adorned with hay bales, cornstalks, scarecrows, and beautiful Fall mums. In spite of the massive crowds, the town stays immaculate and the people you meet - both festival goers and townspeople - are all friendly and positive. Suggestions for attending: 1. Make hotel/motel reservations far in advance. We always stay at the Carnegie Hotel in Johnson City - a little more expensive but a top notch hotel (the prices aren't bad if you can share them with friends) 2. Pack a lunch and snacks and drinks - there are 30 minute breaks between each 1 hour session, and there are a number of places to get something to eat, but you can avoid long lines and save some money if you take your own. 3. Dress in layers and for comfort - temperatures at that time of year can be as low as the 30's to as high as the 90's with sunshine, rain, or occasionally snow! 4. Take a cushion to sit on - those plastic chairs can get HARD! 5. Plan to arrive at least an hour before the first session - parking spots can be gone quickly and seats fill up fast, especially in tents with the most popular tellers. 6. Be prepared for long lines at the porta-potties.