Saint Simons Island Storytelling Festival

Spinning Yarns and Weaving Wisdom

“A need to hear and tell stories is essential to human beings, second in necessity apparently after nourishment and before love and shelter.” – Reynolds Price

Here in the South, storytelling is deeply rooted way of life. It is our way of passing down history, experience, and lessons from our elders, spreading humor and sharing common bonds and values. Warm breezes, front porches, and pitchers of sweet tea create the perfect atmosphere to sit for a spell and swap some tales. Perhaps this is why the art form has flourished below the Mason-Dixon line. It is the home of numerous storytellers’ guilds, organizations, and festivals. More than 10,000 attendees flock to the annual festival held by the International Storytelling Center in Tennessee. The Golden Isles itself was the inspiration for The Moth, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling that was brought to life in 1997 by poet and best-selling novelist George Dawes Green. He wanted to recreate the feel of those Georgia summer night storytelling sessions in his adopted home state of New York. Since its launch, The Moth has presented thousands of live stories, told without notes, to standing room only crowds worldwide, and its radio hour has won a Peabody Award. Clearly everybody loves a good story.

On February 5-7, Epworth By The Sea will host the inaugural Saint Simons Island Storytelling Festival, featuring nationally known, professional storytellers, Donald Davis, Carmen Agra Deedy, Andy Offutt Irwin, and Bil Lepp. These four renowned storytellers who will be coming to spin yarns at Epworth’s beautiful island campus on the banks of the historic Frederica River have wildly different styles and are thrilled to share their tales and their experience. The setting under the canopy of oaks is perfect for a weekend of Southern hospitality  (complete with front porches) spent listening, laughing, maybe shedding a few tears, but most of all, enjoying and sharing stories. 

Donald Davis, known as “The Dean of Storytelling,” is the former Chairperson of the Board of

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Directors for the National Storytelling Association. A featured teller at the Smithsonian Institution, the World's Fair, festivals and concerts throughout the U.S. and the world, Davis is a also prolific author and producer of books and recordings of his works. The retired United Methodist minister from North Carolina is a master teacher of workshops and storytelling courses and a guest host for NPR’s "Good Evening" program. He says of his craft, “I didn’t learn stories, I just absorb them.”

Havana-born Carmen Agra Deedy moved to Decatur, GA with her family during the Cuban

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Revolution. One of America's most popular storytellers and writers for young readers, Carmen’s charming books appear in both English and Spanish editions, to the delight of tens of thousands of readers. She travels the world and is one of the most sought-after authors for public appearances with audiences both young and old. Carmen has presented stories on NPR’s "Weekend All Things Considered,” at the Kennedy Center, Folger Shakespeare Library, Disney Institute, the National Book Festival in Washington, and National Storytelling Festival in Tennessee. Her audio CD, "Growing Up in Decatur" was named Best Audiobook-Storytelling by Publishers Weekly.

When people speak of Georgia-born storyteller, humorist, singer, songwriter, musician, dialect

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wizard, whistler and human sound-effect machine Andy Offutt Irwin, they explain that while some people have inner-kids, Andy is the embodiment of an outer-kid. Andy is especially known for relating the adventures of his 85 year-old, newly-minted physician aunt, Dr. Marguerite VanCamp, a widow who avoids curmudgeonship by keeping her finger on her own pulse as well as that of the changing world around her. Andy’s appearances include the National Storytelling Festival, International Storytelling Center and Guest Artist at the "FAME" School, Disney World, the "Southern Comedy Tour", Oxford College and of course, his one-man show. All five of his CDs have received storytelling Word Awards and he was honored with the 2013 National Storytelling Network's Circle of Excellence Award.

Hailing from West Virginia, humorist Bil Lepp is another National Storytelling Network Circle of

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Bil Lepp Storyteller

Excellence Award winner storyteller and the five-time champion of the West Virginia Liar’s Contest. He is adept at spinning tales and exaggerating circumstances while including morsels of truth that shed light on universal themes. He has been a perennial favorite at the National Storytelling Festival, performed at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and on stage at Comedy Central in L.A. Author of three books, ten audio collections, a non-fiction book and a novel, Bil’s outrageous tall tales and witty stories and delightful insights into everyday life have earned the appreciation of listeners of all ages. 

Register today to join these celebrated storytellers for a wonderful weekend of witticism and wisdom, true stories and tall tales. Visit epworthbythesea.org or call 912.638.8688. You’re sure to come away from the experience with stories of your own to tell!