The University of Louisville, Blackacre State Nature Preserve & Historic Homestead and the International Order of E.A.R.S. will present the Corn Island Storytelling Festival Oct. 23-24.
Named after Louisville’s first settlement, the Corn Island Storytelling Festival was a nationally known autumn fixture that drew thousands of fans for three decades before ending its run in 2007. UofL and the Corn Island organizers for the last three years joined forces to revive the event. This year, the festival has partnered with Blackacre to extend the festival an extra day.
The two-day event will include storytellers from across the region sharing family-friendly and spooky stories, music, family activities and more. Storytellers and musicians participating in this year’s festival include:
· Bob Sander, co-founder of the Storytelling Arts of Indiana
· Roberta Simpson Brown, a paranormal investigator and author of more than a dozen books and tapes of ghost stories
· Matthew Black Eagle Man, a Dakota from Long Plain First Nation in Manitoba, Canada, a spiritual leader, motivational speaker and storyteller
· Lynny Prince, a Native American storyteller and writer
· Jerry McClure, storyteller and flautist
· Nefertiti Burton, storyteller and chair of the Theatre Arts program at UofL
· Troubadours of Divine Bliss, a duo combining folk-based melodies, jazz vocal rifts with touches of blues and zydeco
· John Gage, musician and host of “Kentucky Homefront”
Details for each day are below:
Oct. 23, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Lutz Hall Lawn, Belknap Campus, University of Louisville,
· Storytelling begins at 7:30 p.m. Col. Bob Thompson, storyteller and writer for the Kentucky Homefront radio program, will be the master of ceremonies. The first half of the program will include legends and cultural stories. The second half of the event will be ghost stories. Storytellers, in order, will be Troubadours of Divine Bliss, Burton, Brown and Sander.
· A fall festival for children with a drum circle, crafts and other activities will run from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
· Concessions will be available for purchase from Boss Hog’s BBQ
· Free admission
For additional information, visit uofl.me/cornisland15.
Oct. 24, 1-10 p.m., Blackacre State Nature Preserve & Historic Homestead, 3200 Tucker Station Rd.
· “Tell your Story, Sing Your Song” workshops, will be held with storytellers from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
· Children’s activities including face painting, Native American music and more will be offered from 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
· Storytelling begins at 7 p.m. Order of storytellers is Troubadours of Divine Bliss, Matthew Black Eagle Man, Prince, Brown and Sander.
· Concessions will be available for purchase from Longshot Lobsta
· Admissions for Saturday is $12/full day adult, $5/full day child, $7/evening adult, and $3 /evening child.
For additional information and advance tickets, visit http://blackacreconservancy.org/events/2015/10/corn-island-storytelling-festival/.
Sponsors for the 2015 Corn Island Storytelling Festival include Fifth Third Bank, Louisville Metro Government, UofL’s Vice Provost for Diversity and International Affairs and Kentucky Homefront.
For media inquiries, contact Bob Thompson, 502-552-3406.
