Sandbar Storytelling Festival Coming to the Winona Campus

Posted By: Judy Myers On: 2022-08-17
Posted On: 2022-08-17

As we prepare for the 2022 fall semester, we want to invite our entire community to the inaugural Sandbar Storytelling Festival, being held at Saint Mary’s Winona Campus this fall. Faculty, please consider incorporating this unique opportunity into your syllabi and announce it as an arts activity. Judy Myers, MFA, Professor of Theatre and Dr. Gary Diomandes, Theatre Faculty Emeritus, are on the Board of Directors for the newly formed storytelling festival here in Winona. The festival will run Thursday, Oct.13, through Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022 (with the public portion Oct. 14-15). The festival’s mission is to present storytelling performances which celebrate and preserve the power and pleasure of our varied cultural traditions and human experiences and to promote the art of storytelling for all ages. Festival values include excellence, inclusivity, equity, diversity, integrity, fun, community, and the power of storytelling.

The three-day event will take place on the Winona Campus in the Performance Center and will feature five internationally known storytellers. Other events will include food trucks, workshops, and music in the gazebo. College students in Winona will have the opportunity to attend a storytelling workshop with teller Bil Lepp (from West Virginia) and Regi Carpenter (from New York) on Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. in Figliulo Recital Hall. They will learn tips on how to craft a story and how to present it. On Friday at 1 p.m., the festival will host a college competition where students can tell their stories — with a chance at being selected to be onstage with the main tellers on Saturday night.

Below is the schedule of events for the storytelling sessions on Friday and Saturday. Although there are smaller events during the day, each evening ends with a “concert,” featuring all five tellers. Friday night is Ghost Night and Saturday night is Fun Night. Also attached is the festival flyer which introduces each of the five tellers. Saint Mary’s has generously donated the facilities for the festival and although the festival is scheduled over fall break, we are hoping students will find time to attend events.

If you would like more information about the storytellers, ticket pricing, the workshop, the competition, or volunteer opportunities, please contact Judy Myers (jmyers@smumn.edu) for more details. If you’d like Gary Diomandes, Judy Myers, or Taff Roberts (President) to come to one of your classes to discuss storytelling and the festival, again, contact Judy Myers. Here is the SSF website for more information about the organization, tellers, and events.

Sandbar Storytelling Festival 2022 – Schedule of Events

Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022 (Saint Mary’s Performance Center)

4 – 5:30 p.m. — Workshop for College Students (Bil Lepp and Regi Carpenter, Recital Hall)

Friday, Oct. 14, 2022 (Saint Mary’s Performance Center)

11:45 a.m. — Food trucks on campus

1 p.m. – 2 p.m. — College Storytelling Competition (Recital Hall)

2 – 2:30 p.m. — Break

2:30 – 3:30 p.m. — Bil Lepp and Carolina Quiroga-Stultz (Page Theater)

3:30 – 4 p.m. — Patrick Marek (Heffron Ghost in the Gazebo – TENTATIVE)

4 – 5 p.m. — Rev. Robert Jones, Sr., Regi Carpenter, Alton Takiyama-Chung (Page Theater)

5 – 7 p.m. — Dinner Break

5:30 – 6 p.m. — Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting (Performance Center entrance)

6 – 6:45 p.m. — Mettalarks (Halloween songs) Page Theater; Announce Competition Winner

6:45 – 7 p.m. — Break

7 – 9:30 p.m. — Ghost Night (all storytellers) Page Theater

Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022 (Saint Mary’s Performance Center)

9 – 10 a.m. — How to Tell a Story at Blue Heron Coffeehouse (Bil Lepp) limited seating

10 – 10:45 a.m. — Regi Carpenter and Carolina Quiroga-Stultz (Page Theater)

10:45 – 11 a.m. — Break

11 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. — Bil Lepp and Alton Takiyama-Chung (Page Theater)

11:45 a.m. — Food trucks on campus

1 – 2 p.m. — Rev. Robert Jones, Sr. (Page Theater)

2 – 2:30 p.m. — Break

2:30 – 3:30 p.m. — Alton Takiyama-Chung and Carolina Quiroga-Stultz (Page Theater)

3:30 – 4 p.m. — Break

4 – 5 p.m. — Bil Lepp and Regi Carpenter (Page Theater)

5 – 7 p.m. — Dinner Break

5 – 5:45 p.m. — Bell House Band (Gazebo)

5:30 – 6:30 p.m. — Koo Koo Kanga Roo (Winona Middle School)

5:45 – 6:30 p.m. — Wing Dam Jammers (Gazebo)

6:30 – 7 p.m. — Break

7 – 9:30 p.m. — Fun Night (all storytellers w/ College Competition winner) Page Theater