Folklife Center to Host Storytelling Workshop and House Concert

The West Virginia Storytelling Guild and the Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center are sponsoring two events with the theme “Grimm and Beyond” on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 14 and 15.

A House Concert with Storytelling Friends will begin at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14, at the Folklife Center on the main campus of Fairmont State University. Admission to the concert is $15 per person. A Storytelling Workshop with Master Storyteller Susan Gordon will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Folklife Center. Admission to the workshop is $40. Combined tickets for both events are available for $45.

A powerful teller of the traditional tale and the personal story, Gordon leads a one-day interactive workshop that invites participants to tell a story of their own. She will provide a range of exercises and activities to help participants bring a story of their choosing to life: a folk tale, a personal story or maybe one based on the Friday night concert tales. The ways storytelling, art and writing can help a person move through life’s challenges also will be discussed. The workshop will leave participants with a deeper understanding of story exploration and development and new skills to implement in future work. The workshop is suitable for older teens through adults from novice to experienced levels of telling.

“Susan Gordon knows the depth of the Grimm Brothers’ tales and brings forth the power within them,” said Dr. Margaret Yocom, founder of the Folklore Studies Program at George Mason University.

For more information about the events, call (304) 864-0879 or e-mail jdadisman@aol.com.

Folklife CenterWest Virginia Storytelling GuildSusan Gordon