Timpanogos Storytelling Festival

Last weekend I took a little time off to go and enjoy some stories. Every year Orem City and their Friends of the Library organization put on a storytelling festival, perhaps you've heard of it - the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. It's a wonderful event. This was only my second year. I went for my first time about five years ago. Both times I've had a blast. They bring in some great storytellers who draw their stories from all over the world.

This year my favorites were Kevin Kling, Antonio Rocho, Motoko, and Carmen Deedy -although not in any particular order. It's really hard to stop there, because all of the tellers were so awesome. I list these four tellers only because they are the ones that I spent most of the festival listening to.

Kevin Kling is from Minnesota and shares personal stories from his life - hilarious personal stories. Antonio Rocho is originally from Brazil and share folktales from Africa and Brazil as well as a few personal stories. He is also a fantastic mime. Motoko is also a mime. She is originally from Japan and shares tales from her native country. Carmen Deedy is somewhat of a regular at the festival. Her family is from Cuba, but she was raised in Georgia. You can always count on her stories to make you laugh and laugh and laugh (kind of like Kevin Kling, only different).

I also heard a very powerful story from Jay O'Callahan called "Father Joe". It was about his uncle who was a priest and a professor. It went through O'Callahan's relationship with his uncle and the time his uncle spent serving as a chaplain on an aircraft carrier during the second world war. "Father Joe" was awarded a Medal of Honor for his actions on the Franklin. It was a very powerful story that brought the audience to tears.

I wish I could tell you about the stories, but I just couldn't do them justice. You just have to hear them for yourself. Every year we receive brochures for the festival and every year we put them out so anyone that's interested in the festival can take one. Keep your eyes open for it next year. The festival will be the beginning of September so look for information at the library in July or August. It is very, very worth while.

Their web address is http://timpfest.org/

And here are some books that we have by Carmen Deedy. Check them out!

The Library Dragon By Deedy, Carmen Agra White, Michael P. 1994/10 - Peachtree Publishers 156145091X CHECK CATALOG Sunrise Elementary School had a Big problem. Their new librarian, Miss Lotta Scales, was a real dragon. ...More

The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark By Deedy, Carmen Agra Sorensen, Henri 2000/09 - Peachtree Publishers 1561452084 CHECK CATALOG CCBC Choices - 2001 Deedy retells the story of King Christian X and the Danish resistance to the Nazis during World War II. Full-color illustrations. ...More

The Secret of Old Zeb By Deedy, Carmen Agra White, Michael P. 1997/09 - Peachtree Publishers 1561451150 CHECK CATALOG After he is packed off to stay with his Great Aunt Hortensia ("the Warden"), while his parents pursue their dream of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Walter fears that he is in for the worst summer ever. But then he befriends a mysterious neighbor, Old Zeb, a lonely grizzled sailor who builds ships in bottles. Full color. ...More

Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale By Deedy, Carmen Agra Austin, Michael 2007/07 - Peachtree 1561453994 CHECK CATALOG Martina is a young cockroach who doesnt know coffee beans about love and marriage. Thats where her Cuban family comes in. While some of the Cucarachas offer her gifts to make her more attractive, only her grandmother gives her something really useful: some shocking advice. Full color. ...More

Elizabeth