[Scmusenet] Seventh Annual Hagood Mill Storytelling Festival - THIS COMING SATURDAY October 18

Mon Oct 13 14:21:13 EDT 2008

Seventh Annual Hagood Mill Storytelling Festival

A day of family fun coming up on THIS COMING SATURDAY, October 18

   The Pickens County Museum of Art & History invites you to a special, and free, day of milling, stories, tall tales and lots of memories at the Hagood Mill Historic Site & Folklife Center. The Mill will be operating, rain or shine, on Saturday, October 18 from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

   As part of the Museum's "Music in the Mountains" series, the celebration of tradition will continue on this day at the "Seventh Annual Hagood Mill Storytelling Festival." The hills around the ole mill will echo with the whispers, howls 'n hollers of some of the Carolinas' best storytellers sharing bits about all sorts of folks, mountain funnies and mystical places. 

   Returning to again host what has become one of Hagood Mill's favorite annual events is storyteller, musician and radio personality, John Thomas Fowler. 

   Hailing from Boiling Springs, SC, with family ties to the western North Carolina mountains, John Thomas Fowler's storytelling is a blast of old-time energy of yesteryear introducing traditional yarns and folktales from the Carolina region. He also is an old-time mountain banjo and harmonica master, and plays several other traditional instruments occasionally blending them into his programs. John's stories and old-time songs, geared for audiences young and old, are simple stepping stones of history and southern culture. John is also a researcher and collector, writer and host an old time radio show on NC public radio station WNCW 88.7 FM. 

   This year's festival will feature a blast of talented tellers gracing the stages, porches and shade trees at the mill. Joining John and the Hagood Mill regulars will be Dianne Hackworth, joining us all the way from Clinton, TN; Spartanburg's Evelyn Parks and Donna Marie Todd of Black Mountain, NC.

   Although she has honed her skills with a Master's degree in Storytelling, Dianne Hackworth comes to storytelling traditionally, having learned many of her stories from her parents and grandparents while growing up in Tennessee. She keeps all these stories alive by passing them on to others! As well as telling stories for programs and festivals, she also shows others their own hidden talent for storytelling. She teaches storytelling classes throughout the Southeast in schools, libraries, and various other venues.

   Touring throughout the Southeast telling stories for all ages, Dianne blends Multi-culture Folktales with Appalachian Tales, Musical Ballads and more. She uses storytelling not only as exciting entertainment, but also as an educational method and a way of preserving and recounting the past. She offers confidence, encouragement, and guidance to others, enabling them to tell their own stories. Through her exhilarating tales and teaching, Dianne encourages everyone to participate in one of the world's oldest art forms.

   Evelyn Parks has been telling array of stories for more than 30 years and consider herself a humorous storyteller. She was the main storyteller at the United Way's Olympic Torch Festival and has recently performed at festivals including Augusta Baker's Dozen, The Price House Fall Festival and Stone Soup. She has also participated in numerous statewide conferences and seminars sharing her love of storytelling. 

   Evelyn is currently an employee of the Spartanburg County Public Libraries, and has been a salaried employee for over 30 years. She says that she owes her new innovative style of storytelling to the celebrity storytellers Augusta Baker, Jackie Torrance, John Fowler, Dixie Page and one  amazing organization, Toastmaster International. Without their guidance, she says she would not be a storyteller.

   Donna Marie Todd's tales are original creations filled with song. She received her performance training at the Peabody Conservatory and is known as "The Singer of Stories."  Her stories emphasize the strength found in family, faith, and the Bible. She is a teaching artist in the schools and the editor of 'The Biblical Storyteller'. Visit www.donnamarietodd.net <http://www.donnamarietodd.net/>  to learn more.

   Continuing the theme of the day, talking about and signing copies of their books, will be several regional authors including Dot Jackson, Bobbie McNeil and Jerry Vickery.

   Join in the fun from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for this FREE day of tall tales, whoppers and good ol' stories along with the monthly dose of milling, music and memories. The Hagood Mill hosts a variety of folklife and traditional arts demonstrations each month, including blacksmithing, bowl-digging, flintknapping, moonshining, quilting, spinning, weaving, woodcarving and more! Also enjoy the opportunity to see the mill site's newly restored Daniel Pratt cotton gin, which will run several times throughout the day. This rare 1890's gin has been restored over the last two years by Hagood Mill volunteers.

   "Music in the Mountains 2008" is sponsored by a private benefactor. The Pickens County Museum of Art & History is funded in part by Pickens County, members and friends of the museum and a grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts. 

   There promises to be lots to do and lots of fun! So, head on out, grab a plate of Kannarney's Barbeque and enjoy a day at the Mill. Show your support for the Mill and the Pickens County Museum by joining them at this monthly Third Saturday event. The Hagood Mill operates, rain or shine, the third Saturday of every month and is located just 3 miles north of Pickens or 5 ½ miles south of Cherokee Foothills Scenic Hwy 11 off SC Hwy 178 at 138 Hagood Mill Road. Hagood Mill is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 until 4:00, to tour the buildings and grounds and to visit the Mill Site Gift Shop.

   For additional information please contact the Hagood Mill Historic Site & Folklife Center at (864) 898-2936 or the Pickens County Museum at (864) 898-5963. 

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