Fifteenth Annual Big South Fork Storytelling Festival

Date: August 28, 2007
Contact: Steven Seven, 423-569-9778

Every year for the Haunting in the Hills Festival scary stories are told under the big tent.

NPS

The Fifteenth Annual "Haunting in the Hills” Storytelling Festival will be held Saturday, September 22, 2007 in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. The event will include dulcimer and craft workshops, craft sales, afternoon storytelling presentations, and Dulcimer and Blue Grass concerts. The day long event will conclude with a Ghost Story concert in the fields adjacent to the Bandy Creek Visitor Center. The festival is free to the public.

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 basket making, soap making, flint knapping, and woodcarving. For further information or to register call the park visitor center at [phone].

The Appalachian Arts Council will be holding a silent auction from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with all proceeds being used to support the Haunting in the Hills Storytelling Festival. Also, new to this year’s festival, several craft demonstrators will be selling their products.

As always, the ever-popular “Old Timey Toy” display will be set up in the fields adjacent to the Visitor Center. These toys are a great opportunity for the young and old alike to step-back in time and have some real fun!

The Knoxville Area Dulcimer Club will be on hand to present beginning dulcimer workshops all day long. The workshops will be one hour in length and dulcimers will be available for those who do not own their own instrument. To register for a class, please call the park visitor center at [phone].

Storytelling will begin at 1:00 p.m. under the tent with the festival storytellers sharing their favorite family oriented stories. Their performances will be followed at 3:00 p.m. with an open mike for presentations by several local school storytelling clubs and audience members, 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 be presenting 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, folding chairs or 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.