Suncoast Storytelling Festival Celebrates 10 Years In St. Pete

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A range of stories sharing family history, folklore, personal experiences and tales of faraway places will take center stage on Saturday as the Suncoast Storytelling Festival returns to St. Petersburg for a full day celebrating the art of storytelling.

The festival, organized by Suncoast Storytellers, will run from noon to 8 p.m. at the Sunshine Center, 330 Fifth St. N.

The event also marks the 10th anniversary of the first festival organized by founder and artistic director Ross Tarr in 2016.

This year's festival will feature four nationally recognized storytellers: Linda Schuyler Ford, Mij Byram, Andy Russell and Tamara Green. The lineup will include an afternoon of hands-on workshops and an interactive Story Swap, followed by an evening storytelling concert featuring the guest performers.

The featured storytellers bring a variety of specialties to the stage, Tarr said. Ford draws on regional folklore, ghost stories and hometown tales; Byram specializes in storytelling for children; Russell is known for personal narratives, often with a country influence; and Green shares African folktales and African American stories.

The afternoon workshops will give participants an opportunity to explore different aspects of the craft, including transforming personal memories into compelling narratives, developing stories about regional history, and writing and storytelling for young audiences.

Tarr said that storytelling offers benefits that extend well beyond the stage, particularly when it comes to literacy and public speaking.

"Storytelling, of course, is the entry door for literacy," he said. “The greatest and the easiest way to sneak into it is through storytelling."

He encourages reluctant or new storytellers who are just learning the craft to find stories that resonate with them.

“Don’t tell a story you don’t like,” Tarr said.

He's also an advocate for preserving family stories, encouraging people to make time for them during gatherings and holidays.

"Once those stories are lost or forgotten, they're gone forever, and you've lost that whole sense of identity as a family or as a group," Tarr said.

The festival's Story Swap will provide an open-mic setting where storytellers at all skill levels can share their own stories, ranging from personal experiences to folklore, with the audience.

For those interested in attending Suncoast Storytelling Festival, several ticket options are available.

A full-day pass, which includes workshops, the Story Swap and evening concert, is $40. A workshops-only pass is $25, while admission to the evening concert is $15.

The concert will also be livestreamed for $15, allowing people outside the Tampa Bay area to participate. Discounted admission is available for seniors, students, teachers and community members with limited incomes.

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