This event is FREE for Saint Mary’s Faculty, Staff, and Students.
WINONA, Minn. — Award-winning storyteller, author, singer-songwriter, and humorist Kim Weitkamp will return to Winona for a three-day residency May 8-10. Weitkamp was featured during the Sandbar Storytelling Festival in 2023 when she enthralled her audience with humorous and heartwarming stories from childhood and growing up in the south to marriage and menopause. To kick off the Sandbar Storytelling Festival’s 2025 season, she will share stories in area schools with grades K-5. On Saturday morning she presents a story session for families at the Winona Public Library at 10a.m. And on Saturday night, she concludes with a full concert of storytelling and music at 7 p.m. in the Page Theatre at Saint Mary’s University.
Weitkamp grew up in Amish Country as the middle child of exhausted parents. Labeled by teachers as high-spirited, uncooperative and too talkative, she took those comments and channeled them into a lifetime of high-energy, heartfelt, and hilarious artistry. We are all better for it.
After using applied storytelling in her work with adjudicated and at-risk youth for 12 years, Weitkamp took a turn onto a different avenue of story and song which led her down the path of full time touring for the last 15 years where she gathered an armload of awards.
She performs regularly at festivals and theaters around the country, has written a well-received folk operetta and has been a guest editor and contributor for various publications. Her material gets regular airplay on Sirius XM as well as NPR Affiliate Stations.
She has eight award-winning albums, has produced and/or designed 32 albums for other performers and has hosted a morning show for a DOVE Award winning radio network. She has been honored with leadership and speaking awards for her coaching/speaking work with internationally known companies like Purina, Leibherr, Grifols, and Edward Jones, as well as nationally recognized non-profits like, Feeding America, Habitat for Humanity, and Conflict Resolution Centers. She is ranked as one of the top 20 business coaches in the Columbus, Ohio, region by Influence Digest, teaching the power of story to help grow organizations and build teams.
There … Now you know all the hoopla. But at the heart of her work, Weitkamp says, “Story is at the foundation of all I do. Whether I am making an audience laugh, writing a new song, or presenting a keynote, story is the springboard for each and every step I take. I share and teach the art of storytelling with great intention. Why? Because I have witnessed, firsthand, its incredible power.”
This event is FREE for Saint Mary’s Faculty, Staff, and Students.
Additional tickets are available at sandbarstorytellingfestival.org/tickets
Non-SMU Affiliated Prices
$20 general admission / $10 for students
