By: Charles Romans
Carter County Times
The popular festival of stories returns to Cave Run Lake, near Morehead, again this year, September 25 – 26. The Cave Run Storytelling Festival brings celebrated storytellers from across the country to entertain both young and older listeners alike, all while surrounded by the beauty of one of Kentucky’s most popular destinations. And the stories themselves echo Appalachian traditions through the power of music and the spoken word.
Festival co-founder Carolyn Franzini said it all began in 1999.
“In 1999 there were several citizens in Morehead, and some of us had been to the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesboro, Tennessee,” Franzini said. “And some of us thought we could have a little festival in Morehead.”
Franzini said several of those who had experienced the amazing storytelling in Tennessee put together what would become the Cave Run Storytelling Contest.
“We had it out by the lake, which is such a beautiful place,” she said. “We had a lot of people come, so we decided to continue to do this.”
And continue it they have.
“This will be year 26,” Franzini said, noting that the community has supported them from the outset.
“The community gives us a lot of support,” she said of the festival’s success. “There are businesses who give money, and tourism gives money, and all together it has helped make it such a wonderful thing.”
“We have about three thousand people,” she said. “School students come on Thursday and Friday, and many schools come every year because they know it is a great event.”
And there is the consideration of expense as well, she said. Franzini said that many schools cannot afford to have well-known storytellers like the ones who speak at the festival because it can get fairly expensive. But by coming to the festival to hear multiple storytellers it is much more cost effective.
“Plus, it is such a beautiful place,” she said of Cave Run.
Tents are set up along the lake at an area that used to be called the beach, and those tents can hold up to 1,000 and the venue seats roughly 850, she said.
“We are very organized, we have programs, and lots of information,” she said.
“It is a great event,” Franzini continued. “So many kids are so involved in their gadgets these days. But here you get to have a real experience of hearing someone talk and enjoying it, and that is a whole different experience for many kids.”
“It opens their eyes to stories,” Franzini said. “And we always hope that when people attend our event they will realize they have stories as well. And then they can go home and share them with their family and friends or write them down or something. That’s always the purpose of a storytelling festival. It’s to help people understand that stories are important, and that you have stories.”
“It would be great if one of those kids would go home and have their grandpa tell them a story about his childhood,” Franzini said. “They might learn something. It’s just a thought.”
But in reality, all stories begin as just a thought. It’s only when we share those thoughts that they become stories.
The Cave Run Storytelling festival will host professional storytellers April Armstrong and Antonio Rocha, Bil Lepp and Josh Goforth, Kevin Kling and Nestor Gomez, and Sheila K. Adams. Tickets can be purchased at caverunstoryfest.org for Friday and/or Saturday. Thursday is reserved just for students, but the remaining two days are for both students and adults. A full list of scheduled events is available on the website.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
