Lend Me Your Ears
Grab the family and head to Tampa for the annual Tampa-Hillsborough County Storytelling Festival, a happening that's been charming locals by the thousands for the past 25 years.
National storyteller and musical artist Heather Forest opens the festivities with a performance of her unique, minstrel-style storytelling, which combines original music and folk guitar melodies with poetry, prose, song and spoken word. (7 p.m. Fri., April 15. Lowry Park Band Shell, 7525 N. Boulevard, Tampa.)
From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sat., April 16, Forest joins 40 other regional and local storytellers, and over 400 youth storytellers, in a daylong celebration that features storytelling concerts, puppet shows, a storybook character parade, book fair and family-friendly workshops. (Middleton High School, 4801 N. 22nd St., Tampa.)
On Sun., April 17, Forest heads a free workshop, "Music in Storytelling," for teens and adults. Here, participants can learn about and explore the natural rhythms of language, song creation and the artistic potential of the voice as an instrument. Space is limited. To register, please email [email protected] or call 813-931-2106. (1:30-3:30 p.m. John F. Germany Main Library, 900 N. Ashley Drive, downtown Tampa.)
For further details about the festival, go to www.tampastory.org.
-Leilani Polk
