Historical May 1982 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Tall tales, Indian fables, haunting legends, and whimsical stories will come alive at the third annual St. Louis Storytelling Festival, scheduled Thursday through Sunday, May 6 through 9 at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (Gateway Arch) on the St. Louis riverfront. Storytelling sessions are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, from 11 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
There will be a special evening performance beginning at 7 on Saturday in the Arch auditorium featuring the storytellers, Missouri folk music, and dancing.
On Sunday, a special “Family Folklore Day” with personal reminiscences of family life with older St. Louisans is scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Old Courthouse.
All storytelling events are open to the public and free of charge. School and group reservations are necessary for the Thursday and Friday scheduled tellings and may be made by calling 425-6010. Storytellers from around the country will convene in St. Louis for the Festival and will include Eskimo and Indian myths, Zen and Sufi tales, stories from Africa and Europe, cowboy tales, buckeroo poems, and ballads.
Many well-known St. Louis tellers will also be featured during the Festival, including Irene Eveland, Ruthilde Kronberg, David Novak, Lynn Rubright, and Emily Thach. Storytelling sessions are scheduled at various locations within the Arch and Museum of Westward Expansion: at the wagon, levee, pilot wheel, chuckwagon, tepee, and Lewis and Clark Exploration map.
According to Ron Turner, Acting Dean of Continuing Education-Extension at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and chairman of the Festival planning committee, “Storytelling is one of the oldest means of human communication. Today, because of rapidly changing technologies and lifestyles preservation of our oral tradition is even more critical. Through this Festival we try to maintain and develop this important cultural and historical heritage.” The St. Louis Storytelling Festival is sponsored by the University of Missouri-St. Louis in cooperation with the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial National Historic Site and the Kirkwood R-7 School District. Major support for the Festival is being provided by The Camelot Fund of the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis, Emerson Electric Co., Laclede Gas Company, and the Monsanto Fund.
Originally published in The Paper, May 1982.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1982_05.pdf, printed page(s) 2; PDF page(s) 2.
