Jonesborough TN International Storytelling Center

Jonesborough Tennessee International Storytelling Center near Watauga Lake Tennessee

All photos and illustrations by Pat Johns ©2008
All Rights Reserved
See links to article references at the end of the article.

February, 2008

"On a warm October day in 1973, the town of Jonesborough played host to the first National Storytelling Festival. The Festival was tiny, but something happened that October weekend that has changed forever our culture, this traditional art form, and this Tennessee town."

- www. StoryTellingCenter.com

The National Storytelling Festival was created by Jimmy Neil Smith, a former mayor of Jonesborough. According to the National Storytelling website, his inspiration was a tale heard over a car radio by Grand Ole Opry star Jerry Clower about hunting in Mississippi. "Why not a storytelling festival?" Smith wondered.

The festival is held in October under colorful tents throughout Jonesborough. It attracts approximately 10,000 visitors.

Two years after the first festival, the National Storytelling Association was started. Since then it has served as the central point for this storytelling revival throughout the world.

The International Storytelling Center is open throughout the year. It is located across from the Courthouse at 100 W. Main Street and the center and gift shop are open Tuesdays - Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

The center's facilities include 200-year-old country inn (The Chester Inn), a new 14,000-square-foot education building, and a surrounding three-acre park.

Twenty-two of America’s best-loved storytellers will be Tellers in Residence at the International Storytelling Center in 2008 – one per week for 22 weeks from June 3 – November 1.