Whether spending time with friends, attending a family reunion or sitting on College Green, one thing has the power to bring individuals together: storytelling. By sharing adventurous, exciting, sad or funny stories, people have passed on memories through generations, shaping the world today.
The Appalachian Literary Arts and Storytelling Festival made its debut Oct. 5-6, and it became evident that some of the most eye-opening and heartwarming stories can be told by those in Athens’s neighboring cities.
Sponsored by Stuart’s Opera House, the festival took place across from Nelsonville’s Historic Public Square. The festival’s mission is to “encourage creative expression and action in elevating authentic Appalachian stories,” by preserving the culture through “visual, auditory and kinesthetic” storytelling.
Kaleigh Cox, founder of the event and an Ohio University alumna, said the festival taught attendees of all ages, especially children, how essential it is to share stories with others to express character.
“I think a lot of times students feel like their stories don’t matter in the face of published authors or directors,” Cox said. “This levels the playing field.”
Cox also met with several businesses around Nelsonville during the planning process, as one of the festival’s goals was to support owners in the area.
“A lot of times there are these big events that close off portions of town which then just do harm to the businesses and places around,” Cox said. “We intentionally do not have food trucks because we wanted the businesses, the restaurants on the square to get all of that money.”
Each live performance was led by a different attendee, who was hand-picked by the festival’s coordinators after submitting a proposal. Beverly Wilkes, a Chillicothe resident originally from eastern Tennessee, performed a cover of “I Wonder as I Wander” by Jacob Niles and has shared a deep connection with Niles's music since the ‘60s.
“This story’s been with me awhile, since 1968 when I first heard John Jacob Niles sing it,” Wilkes said. “I got to learn it and I’d sing it every opportunity I could.”
Before the performance, Wilks researched Niles because she wanted to create a meaningful story to share with the audience. From her research, she developed a variety of speeches and songs to perform, expressing her personality and implementing the importance of storytelling.
“As human beings, we have to share with one another and learn from one another and tell our stories,” Wilkes said. “Sad stories, happy stories, funny stories, it all connects us. We are not solo people, we need to connect with each other and this is a way to do it.”
In addition to live performances, the festival’s activities included workshops, readings and exhibits, all teaching the traditional and recent conventions of storytelling.
One of the several workshops was taught by Mike Perry, a professional storyteller from Pittsburgh, who has been in the entertainment business for over 25 years.
Perry’s presentation, titled “Everything but a Story: Tools for Tellers and Improving Stage Presence,” discussed the “tools and tricks” regarding “preparation and stage presentation” when storytelling. Perry said the focus of his presentation was to share beneficial tools for those who tell stories in everyday life.
“Storytelling is really my love,” Perry said. “The only way people really understand storytelling is not only to tell stories but to teach the craft. There is so much that goes into any craft that might be invisible to an audience.”
Perry hopes to engage with audience members from all walks of life and according to his website, strives to live by the motto, “Growing up is optional. Having fun is mandatory!”
For the Appalachian people, telling authentic stories is vital in keeping family history and memories alive. Nancy Devol Rose, a citizen from Haydenville, had the opportunity to share her family's history through homemade presentations and original songs.
Rose said she shares a profound knowledge of the Haydenville Mines, as her family grew up in the district originally known as Hopperville, but later called Red Row Holler.
“We didn’t have an easy life,” Rose said. “We had to haul all of our water, every drop of water that we drank or bathed in, we had to go up to the mine and pump it in big milk cans.”
Rose performed three original songs, “Ballad of Red Row Hollar,” “Claymine Hollar” and “You Called Me Old Fashioned,” all of which honored her family’s connection to the mines and her late husband.
The festival hopes to become an annual event and seeks to give a voice to Appalachians, allowing them to share their stories and make new connections with others. Rose said she hopes storytelling can motivate younger generations to keep the past alive.
“It is important for people to be able to tell their stories for Appalachia,” Rose said. “We have stories to tell, things that people won’t hear. Particularly once we are gone, unless it is passed on to the younger ones, it will be lost.”
