14th Annual Storytelling Festival

Storyteller performs under the festival tent.

National Park Service

News Release Date: September 5, 2006

The Fourteenth Annual "Haunting in the Hills” Storytelling Festival will be held Saturday, September 23, 2006 in the Big South Fork NRRA.  The event will include dulcimer and craft workshops, afternoon storytelling presentations, Dulcimer and Blue Grass concerts.  The day's events will conclude with a Ghost Story concert in the area adjacent to the Bandy Creek Visitor Center.  The event is free to the public and will be held rain or shine.

Saturday’s events will begin with craft workshops, held in the fields and areas adjacent to the Bandy Creek Visitor Center.  Planned craft workshop sessions will include quilting, basket making, soap making, flint knapping, and woodcarving.  For further information or to register call the park visitor center at [phone].

From 10:00 a.m. till 6:00 p.m. the ever-popular “Old Timey Toy” display will be set up in the fields adjacent to the Visitor Center.  Step-back in time and have some fun!

The Knoxville Area Dulcimer Club will present beginning dulcimer workshops.  The workshops will be two hours in length and dulcimers will be available for those who do not own their own instrument.  For registration, please call the park visitor center at [phone].

Storytelling will begin at 1:00 p.m. under the tent with the festival storytellers sharing family oriented stories.  Their performances will be followed at 3:00 p.m. with an open mike, presentations by several local school storytelling clubs, a concert by the Knoxville Area Dulcimer Club, and Blue Grass music. 

The climax of this year's festival will again be the night of ghost stories.  Ghost stories will begin at 8:00 p.m. Saturday evening.  Five storytellers from around the country will present their best ghost stories.  A series of "not-too-scary" stories will first be presented for the young and faint of heart.  These will then be followed by scarier stories for the brave at heart. 

Visitors are encouraged to come spend a special day on the Cumberland Plateau.  Please remember to dress appropriately for the weather, bring a flashlight, a blanket for seating on the ground, and snacks or drinks.   Food will be available throughout the afternoon and picnic facilities are nearby for those who would like to use them.

For further information about the event or for directions to Bandy Creek, call the National Park Service Visitor Center at [phone].

All times are scheduled on Eastern Daylight Savings Time.