9th Annual Storytelling Festival

For Immediate Release: Monday, March 11, 2013

9th Annual Storytelling Festival: Art of the Story at Washington County Libraries

A National Library Week Celebration: April 13-20

Washington County, Oregon: The Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) hosts the 9th Annual Storytelling Festival - Art of the Story (formerly known as the Hearing Voices Storytelling Festival) as part of National Library Week. The festival features five professional storytellers: Kim Weitkamp (Christiansburg, VA), Patrick Ball (Sebastopol, CA), Bill Ratner (Los Angeles, CA), Rick Huddle and Anne Rutherford (Portland, OR).

The festival performances are designed for the enjoyment of adults and children ages 6 and up, unless otherwise noted. The week-long storytelling extravaganza features 14 storytelling performances at the WCCLS member libraries, the Glenn & Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center, The Springs at Tanasbourne in Hillsboro and the Elsie Stuhr Senior Center in Beaverton.

The festival wraps up on Saturday, April 20 with a full slate of activities. Patrick Ball will begin the morning with a performance at the Sherwood Public Library. Kim Weitkamp’s presentation of The Business of Story Workshop kicks off the afternoon at the Tualatin Public Library followed by a community-wide Story Swap hosted by the Portland Storytellers’ Guild. On the evening of the 20th, the Garden Home Community Library hosts the final storytelling concert featuring performances by all five storytellers.

The WCCLS festival is supported in part by grants from the Regional Arts and Culture Council, Recology, each of the local Friends of the WCCLS member libraries hosting a festival event and the Portland Storytellers’ Guild. Generous in-kind services have been provided by Pamplin MediaGroup, Courtyard by Marriott, ProGraphics Services, Classic Chauffer, The Springs at Tanasbourne, Glenn and Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center and the Elsie Stuhr Senior Center.

*Content in the programs require attentive listening and may be too intense for non-school aged children. Except where noted, the festival programs are designed for adults and children ages 6 and above.

In celebration of National Library Week, everyone will be hearing voices of inspiration, history and humor at the Washington County libraries’ storytelling festival. Admission is FREE.

NOTE: A high resolution picture of each storyteller and their biography are available by request: [email protected]. Festival schedule available at www.wccls.org/festival

The Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) includes: Banks Public Library, Beaverton City Library, Beaverton City Library @ Murray Scholls, Cedar Mill Community Library, Cedar Mill Community Library @ Bethany, Cornelius Public Library, Forest Grove City Library, Garden Home Community Library, Hillsboro Public Libraries (Main and Shute Park), North Plains Public Library, Sherwood Public Library, Tigard Public Library, Tualatin Public Library, and West Slope Community Library. Two specialty libraries are also a part of the Cooperatives library card service — the Oregon College of Art & Craft and the Tuality Health Education Resource Center.

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