FLORENCE — From The Ritz Theatre to the W.C. Handy Festival, there is no shortage of ways to celebrate art and artists in the Shoals, especially in the summer.
This weekend features two Florence festivals: Shoals Storytelling Festival and Arts Alive.
The 11th annual Shoals Storytelling Festival gets underway Thursday at 7 p.m.
at the historic Shoals Theatre in downtown Florence. After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the event’s cancellation in 2020 and a virtual event in 2021, this year, nine storytellers and musicians will take the stage in person.
“It is great to be back after the COVID shutdown of 2020,” Festival Director Debbie Chaffin said. “In 2021, we had a virtual storytelling festival, and we had 300 people who bought tickets from as far as Nova Scotia.
“However, there’s no substitute like being live, in-person. This year people have bought
tickets from Colorado, Utah, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee. With 26 hours of phenomenal entertainment, over three days, this year’s festival is one of the best lineups ever.”
Nationally recognized storyteller and author of three books Elizabeth Ellis will tell her
tales beginning Friday. Ellis, of Dallas, Texas, mentors other storytellers and has
won numerous awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National
Storytelling Network.
Chaffin said, “The leading national storytellers, Donald Davis and Bil Lepp, draw people from all over.”
Lepp is also the host of “Man vs. History” on the History Channel. Other performers include singer/songwriter Lenny LeBlanc, a Florence resident who has written and recorded music with artists like Etta James, Joan Baez, The Temptations, and Mac Davis, and who continues to write and record Christian, pop, and country music.
Mac McAnnally and Walt Aldridge will share music and the stories behind their songs,
and Birmingham storytellers Dolores Hydock & Bobby Horton are both well-known
throughout the country.
Rounding out the lineup is Dr. Eric Kirkman, director of Kilby Laboratory School at the
University of North Alabama. Through his singing and trumpet playing, Kirkman tells the
story of the African American influence on American music.
“It’s an honor to be a part of the festival, and to be back in person is exciting,” Kirkman
said. “It reminds me that we are continuing to move to a place where we can once again
enjoy arts-related activities as a community.”
Arts Alive Festival
Additionally this weekend, the 35th annual Arts Alive Festival will set up at Wilson Park in
downtown Florence. According to the website, the event features national, regional, and local artists who work in a variety of media including painting, stained glass, jewelry, sculpture, pottery, fiber art, woodwork, photography, and more.
To help ensure the event reflects the community, Arts Alive will bring the work of
Emerging Artists of Color to festival-goers through scholarships for free exhibit spaces in
the park.
The juried exhibition will take place in Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts directly
across Tuscaloosa Street from Wilson Park. Art lovers can get an early peek at the
exhibition at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Tickets can be purchased at this link.
Festival and museum hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday. Admission is free, so bring the family, enjoy Wilson Park, grab a bite from Hattie Mae’s, Momma P’s, and Happi Pappi, and buy some cool art.
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