The sixth annual More Tales Storytelling Festival was held at the Wilmore Municipal Center from Sep. 15 to 16.
More Tales is a yearly event featuring storytellers from across the country, held on the third weekend of every September.
More Tales kicked off during the day on Friday, Sep. 15, with a variety of educational performances at local elementary schools, Wesley Village Senior Center, Thomson Hood Veterans Center, and Asbury University.
A prelimary presentation on the role and importance of storytelling was held in the Miller Screening Room at 11:00 a.m., delivered by Kentucky-native storyteller Paul Strickland. Strickland is a well-traveled theatre artist and musician, who employs a “collage” style of storytelling that utilizes all his talents. To illustrate points in the presentation, Strickland told tales of a book-headed boy and an “undisturbable well,” and employed audience participation to construct the image of a “walking snake.”
“My stories are often accused of being ‘not true,’” Strickland said. “I have fun with levels of fact, but I want my listener to walk away with something true. I tell true stories that just happen to have never happened.”
The main event began at the municipal center with a selection of ghost stories from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., beginning with More Tales co-founder Ed Bryson and cycling through guest tellers Stephen Hollen, Strickland, Laura Packer, and Bil Lepp. On Saturday, Sep. 16, storytelling resumed at 10:00 a.m. and lasted until 8:30 p.m., with hour-long breaks at 12:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Stephen Hollen is an experienced storyteller and a Mark Twain and Buffalo Bill Cody impersonator, lauded by More Tales as “one of the premiere Southern Humorists.” Hollen took to the stage at 10:00 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and 7:00 p.m.. He delivered personal stories about aging and domesticity, describing his growing desires to save wrapping paper and use aprons.
“Have you seen those commercials where kids are turning into their parents? Well, I’m turning into my grandma,” Hollen mused.
Strickland delivered his stories at 10:30 a.m., 4:15 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. Citing his “Ain’t True and Uncle False” as sources, Strickland put a trailer park spin on the story of Rapunzel and spoke of cheating death in a “No Passing Zone.”
Bil Lepp, an award-winning storyteller, author, and recording artist from West Virginia, took up the microphone at 11:00 a.m., 2:45 p.m., and 8:00 p.m.. Lepp focused on smalltown eccentricities, relating the misadventures of his best friend Skeeter, an entire family named after types of beef, and a giant bored pumpkin. Lepp concluded his 2:45 p.m. set by relating a failed attempt to launch the giant pumpkin, the “Bored Gourd,” with a trebuchet.
“Even when you set out to do something constructive, you can tear down an entire building,” Lepp concluded.
Laura Packer, an award-winning storyteller with over 25 years of experience, spoke at 11:30 p.m., 2:00 p.m., and 8:30 p.m. Packer, barefoot and wearing a constellation dress, took a whimsical approach with the fairy-filled adventures of Crazy Jane and an African creation myth centered around a crab.
“Madness can take you far away, but it always brings you back home,” Packer said.
The festival also featured performances by Wilmore’s own Barely Shaken String Band at 1:15 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. Barely Shaken is composed of Joy Miracle on guitar and washboard, Jim Coogan on banjo and vocals, and primary singer Joe Klepac on violin. The band performed traditional songs including “Sally Ann,” “Cumberland Gap,” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” stressing their Appalachian background as opposed to bluegrass influence.
Barely Shaken’s performance included the implementation of a “cranky,” a hand-cranked visual storytelling device that uses a moving panoramic image. The cranky was operated by Klepac, who used it to tell a love story about his grandfather.
In addition to the roster of storytellers, the festival featured refreshments, craft stores, and a booth for the Jessamine County Historical Society. Publications and merchandise were on sale from each storyteller. Hollen also sold honey, joking to his 3:30 p.m. audience that “the honey sells better than the books.”
More Tales will return to Wilmore on Sep. 20 and 21, 2024, and will add a competitive angle with a new “Biggest Liar Contest.”