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Friday, November 13, 2009 – 7:00PM to 10:30PM
Saturday, November 14, 2009 – 9:00AM to 10:30PM

The 4th Annual Lower Brandywine Storytelling Festival featured twelve world-renowned talents in a delightful two-day 'Festival of Stories.' The event offered a Friday evening performance, followed by a Saturday including morning workshops, olios, an open microphone, an afternoon sampler, music, and a fun-filled evening storytelling concert. This fourth-of-its-kind event promoted good, old-fashioned entertainment for people of all ages. It featured true traditional storytelling (think Garrison Keillor); the kind that entertained our families before our digital bondage. Entirely appropriate for kids…and absolutely for adults…this was another unique program.

The Storytellers.

Charlotte Blake Alston
Charlotte stepped in when friend and colleague Tahira was unable to perform. A frequent Teller at the National Storytelling Festival, her debut at the Lower Brandywine Storytelling Festival was memorable. She enhanced her stories from the African and African American traditions with traditional instruments including the 21-stringed kora.

Willy Claflin
Willy returned for the third time to Lower Brandywine, along with respected ruminant storyteller Maynard Moose. Together they have crisscrossed the country since 1982, as teachers and storytellers. Willy has released ten recordings, many of them national award winners.

Danaher & MacCloud
For the third year, Kate Danaher told traditional stories of Irish life and Irish-American experience from the collection of her friend, the late Eamon Kelly, of Dublin, Ireland. Amy Lou MacCloud accompanied, merging Virginia’s Russell County guitar, banjo, and mountain dulcimer with Kate’s County Sligo, Ireland style fiddle.

Michael Forestieri
Michael has a great gift to offer. Funny thing is, you already have it. In his debut at the Lower Brandywine Storytelling Festival, Michael lead a wonderful workshop titled: ‘The Art of Storytelling for Sunday School Teachers.’ In it, he brought out the potential in each participant, drawing out their creativity and helping them develop their voice.

Bill Harley
Two-time Grammy winner made his debut at the Lower Brandywine Storytelling Festival in 2009. His work has influenced a generation. His joyous songs and stories of daily life are all told from Bill’s slightly off-venter point-of-view...especially his ode to ‘Build Me Up, Buttercup,’ which absolutely brought the house down.

Andy Offutt Irwin
This was Andy’s first frenetic appearance at Lower Brandywine. Part Marx Brother, part mischievous schoolboy, his spectrum of subjects sprinted from unicellular friend to octogenarian aunt. Andy is perhaps best-known for stories about Aunt Marguerite Van Camp, which are moving and funny (and sometimes involve backsliding in church).

Charles Kiernan
Charles has, of late, been fobbing himself off as Mark Twain with some success, and the 2009 Lower Brandywine Festival is just one more example. This was his first time with us, and he offered a bit of Twain’s biography, humor, and viewpoint. But it was the journey down Twain’s river of life that Charles made most fun of all.

Bil Lepp
We were privileged to have Bil -- who started it all with us -- headline for the fourth straight year. Of course he’s a frequent Featured Teller at the National Storytelling Festival, and is five-time Liar’s Champion of West Virginia. Bil has been telling tales for 15 years. During that time he has been featured at festivals across the country.

Olivia Merryman
Olivia was the star of our Open Microphone session in 2008. Then, in June of 2009, she won the Elementary Division at the National Youth Storytelling Festival in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. How fast could we get her into our official lineup? Despite the child labor laws, Olivia -- now a mature EIGHT -- followed her hero, Andy Offutt Irwin.

Sangay Miller
Born in Liberia, West Africa, Sangay immigrated to the USA in 1989. She loves to tell the stories and African folktales of her youth, as well as tales of her own. In her debut at Lower Brandywine, Sangay mesmerized a young audience during one of our Children’s Performances. We hope she’ll bring her Honey Tales back sometime soon.

Ed Stivender
Everyone loves Ed Stivender. The renowned mud miner and Philly native has been a fixture at our Festival for three years now. Not only has he performed for us, but he’s also served as Emcee two years running. Ed has been telling stories since 1977. He was inducted into the National Storytelling Association Circle of Excellence in 1996.

Kim Weitkamp
Whether she’s telling heartwarming and irreverent stories of her childhood, or heart-tugging stories of the senior center, Kim is a force with which to be reckoned. Very few people can make an audience laugh, and cry, at the same time. But we’ll all swear it happened! She is at the top of her craft, captivating Lower Brandywine in her debut here with her beautiful singing voice and impeccable comedic timing.

Promotional Materials

Promotional Brochure
Click here to download

This tabloid-sized (17x11) quad-fold brochure contains a brief description, a complete festival schedule, micro-biographies of the twelve Featured Storytellers, a map of the location, and a description of the Vision 20/20 Series of Community Outreach events.


Promotional Poster (8.5 x 11)
Click here to download

This letter-sized (8.5x11) single-sheet poster provides the basic information for the Lower Brandywine Storytelling Festival, including small pictures of the 2009 Lineup. Ideal for printing and posting at home or office.


Workshop 4 Flyer (8.5 x 11)
Click here to download

This letter-sized (8.5x11) single-sheet flyer provides more-detailed information about Workshop 4: The Art of Storytelling for Sunday School Teachers. Ideal for printing and posting at home or office.
 

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