Andover storyteller, Lauretta Phillips, chair or the New Hampshire Storytelling Alliance (NHSA) Event Committee, is pleased to announce that the 8th Annual White Mountain Storytelling Festival (WMSF) will take place at a new venue, Plymouth State University (PSU), and on a different weekend, Thursday to Sunday, September 13 to 16. Phillips and her committee have worked many hours to plan this spectacular weekend dedicated to the oral tradition of story telling.

Sheila Arnold Jones, master storyteller from Virginia, is the featured teller at the festival, which is being produced by NHSA in partnership with PSU and with the support of many generous sponsors. The event will bring together more than a dozen experienced storytellers to share their tales throughout the weekend.  

Storytelling concerts for all ages are planned, beginning with a Thursday evening Story Slam, a first-time event for WMSF. Admission is free for PSU students; $5 for the general public. A Ghost Story Concert on Friday evening at 7:30 pm is free to everyone, as is the final week-end event,  Sacred Tales, at 9am on Sunday morning.

In between, Saturday’s schedule includes two back-to-back concerts at 10am: New Hampshire Talkers by Rebecca Rule, Northwood, and a guest; and a Children’s Concert by Simon Brooks, New London.

At 11:15, Raising Our Voices will feature New Hampshire tellers, Lauretta Phillips, Andover, and Vicky Dworkin, Sandwich, along with Barbara Aliprantis, Natick, Massachusetts; and Nina Lesiga, Stratford, Connecticut.

The featured teller, Sheila Arnold Jones, will present a family concert at 2:30 pm. Then at 4pm New Hampshire tellers, Simon Brooks and Papa Joe Gaudet, will join Andrea Kamens and Joyce Sabato, both of Massachusetts, and Mike Lockett, Illinois, in a concert also appropriate for a family audience. Jones will be featured again at a 7:30pm concert for an adult audience.

Other tellers who may be heard telling ghost stories on Friday, sacred tales on Sunday, or emceeing a concert include Pearl Munroe and John Sanders, both of Nashua; Ruth Niven, Franklin; Mark Chamberlain, Barrington; Sharon Wood, Claremont, and Massachusetts tellers, Jen Agel and Joey Talbert.

All events are free to PSU students presenting their college ID. Tickets for the general public for Saturday festival events may be purchased individually for specific concerts or for the Festival as a whole. The NH Storytelling Alliance website at nhstorytelling.org/festival lists ticket prices. Registration may be done online or at the Festival. For more information contact Lauretta Phillips at events@nullnhstorytelling.org or (603) 735-5965.