Stories rooted in traditions and told for a contemporary audience is what we’re all about.  That’s why our featured tellers for our inaugural Cincinnati Storytelling Festival were Lyn Ford and Bil Lepp. Lyn is a fourth-generation, nationally recognized Affrilachian (of African American heritage and history, from the region called Appalachia) storyteller.  Bil  comes authentically from the West Virginian tradition of Tall-Tales.  Bil and Lyn are also two of the funniest and most entertaining people one could experience onstage. 

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For our second festival (2022) we proceeded cautiously outdoors with  Sheila Arnold and Adam Booth. Sheila tells personal stories rooted in the African-American experience alongside folk and fairytales that inspire and delight.  Adam is an Appalachian teller whose precise but oh-so-entertaining telling weave traditional tales into contemporary narratives that stick in your head for years to come.

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In 2023, we featured Master Storytellers Megan Hicks and Antonio Rocha. Their tales require the audience to recognize how and why we must look to our past in order to better learn how to look forward to a better, more empathetic and righteous future.  And they do that by being edge-of-your-seat entertaining. 

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For 2024, we were lucky enough to bring back Lyn Ford, along with Andy Offut Irwin and his silly putty voice and heart-filled stories.

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In 2025, returning teller Bil Lepp will be joined by Charlotte Blake Alston, whose brilliant tales have graced stages for over 30 years.