2012 Storytellers
Karen-Eve is an international storyteller, Henderson County native, former General Manager of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and is the creator and director of Do Tell festival. She has always dreamed of a festival close to her roots. Karen-Eve has a love of language and believes storytelling is intelligent entertainment as well as an important American/Appalachian tradition. She is a board member of the NC Storytelling Guild and a member of the Asheville Storytelling Circle. Her stories of the human spirit connect, inspire and delight listeners.
Gwenda LedBetter has taught and told stories for fifty years, beginning her work in Asheville’s Pack Library and in "Tales from the Red Rocker "on WLOS-TV. Called a pioneer in the storytelling movement, she has told many times at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee since 1979. She wrote and performed the one-woman show, FRIDAY'S FATHER in 2006, and is the recipient of the Oracle Award from the National Storytelling Association and the Lifetime Achievement Award from North Carolina Storytelling Guild. “About twenty years ago, Gwenda Ledbetter started a storytelling fire in my soul that still burns brightly. She says I'm responsible for the fire. I say, she fanned the flames.” Ceil Ann Clement, North Dakota.
Sherry Lovett has been a storyteller for twelve years starting when she was a middle school teacher. She quickly discovered the power of stories within a classroom to create enthusiasm for learning. She began to explore the craft in earnest after the birth of her daughter, when she became a stay-at-home mom and a professional storyteller. Sherry believes in the magical ability of stories to shine the light on our interrelatedness – the connection of people with people and people with nature – and by this awareness to create more harmony in the world. Sherry Lovett tells a variety of stories including folktales, Native American tales, scary stories, and fairy tales, using precise language, eloquent movement, and dramatic voices to bring the stories to life..
Michael Reno Harrell is an award winning songwriter, as well as a veteran storyteller and entertainer from the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Michael's stories are familiar and razor sharp with a point. His brand of entertainment appeals to a diverse audience. Michael's recordings top the Americana Music Association charts year after year. His original songs and stories have been described as “Appalachian grit and wit” but, as his writing shows, Michael’s awareness is much broader than the bounds of his boyhood home or even the Southern Experience. Having toured throughout the British Isles and much of Europe, as well as most of the US, the songs he writes and the stories he creates reflect an insight into people’s experiences that catch the ear like an old friend's voice. Michael's
Vixi Jil known as Sister Silly Goose has been reading, writing, and telling ancient Celtic faerie tales, as well as old timey mountain Jack tales for over 27 years. A modern day bard, Vixi Jil will enchant you with her own style of original rhyming faerie tales. Musical, lively, and engaging, you will be entertained with ancient Scottish, English ,Old Mountain ballads and ryhming stories. "In days of old when knights were brave and giants held golden geese as slaves, long, long ago in another time”....
Candler Willis is a multi-talented renaissance man who time shifts between the 19th and 21st century! As a student and lover of Abraham Lincoln, Candler was made for the role at 6’5++ in period dress and top hat. In addition, Candler performs Jack Tales, Ozark & Applachian Stories for all ages. Well known in our region for humor and excellent renditions of Lincoln’s original speeches and jokes, Candler will entertain and delight audiences.
Elena Miller a winner of the prestigious national Freeman Tilden Award, began performing at age 12 and continues on to today. She reached stellar status as a child in Peter Pan in Asheville’s Tanglewood Children’s Theater and Atlanta’s Academy Theater. As a National Park Ranger she performed as storyteller/musician at Carl Sandburg Home NHS, the Grand Canyon and St Louis Arch over decades. Elena continues to delight audiences with music made on Appalachian instruments along with her storytelling. Her beguiling stories and songs delight the heart and soul as well as tickle the funny bone!
Ronnie Pepper has 22 years experience working as an educator of young children and is now Director of Henderson County Head Start Centers. Ronnie was the recipient of National Scholastic’s Early Childhood Professionals Award in 2000. He is a native of Henderson County and a member of Hendersonville High School’s Hall of Fame. He serves on numerous boards including BRCC, the Housing Authority, and African Medical Mission.
natural knack for storytelling, in print, song and spoken word, has earned him praise from the literar and storytelling worlds as well, having had the honor of being a Featured Teller at the National Storytelling Festival and to be Teller In Residence at the International Storytelling Center. Additionally, he performs at major music events like MerleFest and the Walnut Valley Festival.
David Novak is a remarkable speaker with a background in theatre arts including Shakespeare, clowning, creative dramatics, playwriting, and directing. He received the 2002 Circle of Excellence award from the National Storytelling Network. He is a veteran of the National Storytelling Festival. A master of literary collage, he animates his programs, contrasting simplicity with complexity, the familiar with the surprising, the ordinary with the fabulous. His work has found audiences across the country from the Lincoln Center Institute to the Los Angeles Music Center On Tour, International Storytelling Institute, Oklahoma Arts Institute, John Campbell Folk School, and Walt Disney Imagineering. www.novateller.com
Visitors to this site
