FLORENCE – “Behind every smile is a story waiting to be shared.”
That is the theme of this year’s Shoals Storytelling Festival.
Set for May 15-17, the festival will take place at the historic Shoals Theatre and features six storytellers with varying styles. The schedule is available here. For tickets, click here.
“Stories connect us to each other and remind us that we’re all part of one great big human story,” said Dolores Hydock, a longtime festival performer. “One of the best parts of the festival is seeing the audience members who are there every year – some of them are local and some travel from far away, but there is always a feeling of excitement when we all first get there and the festival begins to unfold.
“It’s fun, too, to meet people who are there for the first time, especially the people who have never experienced a storytelling festival before and discover its magic for the first time.”
Donald Davis, another festival veteran, enjoys the magic of the storytelling process – when someone else’s tale ignites a memory for a listener and they begin share their own stories.
“The most memorable times come when people tell me stories of their own that they would not have thought of had they not heard our stories,” he said. “This is a lot of why we all do this.”
Davis, a United Methodist preacher from Ocracoke, N.C., said he loves the festival and hopes to always be a part of it.
“I have been a featured teller every year except last year,” Davis said. “I am so glad to be coming back this year and hope that I never have to miss again.”
Hydock, originally from Reading, Pa., and now living in Birmingham, has been featured at every festival since it began in 2011.
“I have been fortunate to be one of the storytellers every year for all 14 years that the festival has taken place, including during COVID, when the festival had to be done virtually,” she said. “It is a delight to see this tradition continue, and an honor to continue to be part of it.
“That one year of ‘virtual’ storytelling showed how vital it is for people to physically be together, and how the actual presence and responses of the other audience members enriches the experience for everyone there.”
In addition to Davis and Hydock, the festival includes Josh Goforth, Bill Lepp, Jackie Mickel, and Eric Kirkman, director of UNA’s Kilby Laboratory School.
“This year’s lineup is splendid. If you come to the festival this year, you are guaranteed to hear stories that will make you laugh and remind you of your own life adventures,” Davis said.
“The stories are different every year,” Hydock said, “and there is something wonderful about a group of people gathered together in person, all experiencing together the laughter, the emotion, and the memories that the stories evoke.”
Davis said the historic Shoals Theatre is the perfect venue for the festival.
“The Shoals Theatre is, in itself, a wonderful place to listen to stories,” he said. “I hope people who have never been will give it a try.”
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