The Flatwater Tales festival kicks off Friday
The Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival kicks off Friday at the Historic Grove Theater in Oak Ridge with three nationally-known storytellers here with tales and music that will make you laugh, sing, and learn as you listen.
The storytellers are Charlotte Blake Alston, Josh Goforth and Bil Lepp.
All three use the power of storytelling to entertain and educate audiences, with hilarious, exaggerated tales or with true stories that shed light on cultures and historic events.
At 7 p.m. Friday, Alston will tell the inspiring story of the Six-Triple-Eight, the first all-Black Women’s Army Corps battalion assigned to military duty in Europe during World War II. She received a standing ovation after telling the story at the 2022 National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough.
Goforth, who plays nearly 20 musical instruments, will be featured Saturday at 2 p.m., entertaining with foot-stomping music and stories that come from his Appalachian roots. Lepp, a five-time West Virginia champion liar, will be featured at 7 p.m. Saturday and tell his story, “John Hendrix, Prophet of Oak Ridge,” but with a new twist to the story’s end.
The three storytellers will each tell tales at all three performances, offering different stories at each event. They will perform at 7 p.m. Friday, June 7, and at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, June 8 at the Historic Grove Theater, 123 Randolph Road, Oak Ridge. Tickets to each event are $15 for adults and $5 for children ages 5 to 17. They will be available at the door.
Tickets may be also be purchased at the Flatwater Tales website, https://flatwatertales.com.
Tickets for these three shows may be purchased with cash or check at Calamity’s Coffee, 219 Jackson Square, Oak Ridge.