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First Annual River Voices Storytelling Festival June 2-3
Des Moines’ first annual storytelling festival, River Voices, will
be June 2-3 at the State Historical Building and Terrace Hill in Des Moines.
The festival will begin Friday, June 2, with a Ghosting concert at 7 p.m.,
featuring spooky tales by local elementary principal and storyteller Eugene
Fracek, whose stories reflect his Native American heritage. Admission is
$5.
Saturday, June 3, will feature workshops, a family concert, children’s
activities, open mic session and olio performances. Nationally renowned
storyteller Dr. Rex Ellis will lead several workshops and perform at a special
Grand Concert fundraiser at 7 p.m., June 3 at Terrace Hill. Tickets for
the Grand Concert are $50 and include a wine and cheese reception with Iowa
First Lady Christie Vilsack.
“We’re delighted to bring this event to Des Moines in June,” said Anita Walker, director of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. “Storytelling is an ancient art form used by human beings for thousands of years to pass down family history from one generation to the next. In today’s society, storytelling may seem like an old-fashioned form of entertainment, but it’s everywhere we look. It’s in libraries, schools, museums, churches, businesses, coffee houses and night clubs. Storytellers do not live on the fringes of today’s society. They’re smack dab in the middle of it.”
In Des Moines, River Voices will feature Ellis, who also is a teacher, historian and vice president of the Historic Area at Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Virginia. He believes storytelling is an excellent way to teach sensitive cultural subjects in the home and community to break down artificial social barriers.
“I have seen bridges built with storytelling that invite listeners and tellers to unite in ways that are more potent than a town meeting and more healing than a therapy session,” Ellis says. “It’s pretty hard to hate someone whose story you know.”
River Voices also features regional storytellers.
Rita Paskowitz is a storyteller who has delighted audiences across the country. She works as an artist-in-residence in schools and communities and in the Nebraska Touring Program for the Nebraska Arts Council.
Darren Raleigh is a storyteller and emergency medical services helicopter pilot in the Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas region. He has made a living as a street harper and prefers the folklore and music of the Celtic nations, though he will tell any story that makes the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
Judith Simundson of Dubuque threads her folk tales with songs in the Old Norwegian style, called kveding. Her tales are told in English with Norwegian charm. She has toured throughout the Midwest and regularly returns to Norway. She is on the Roster of Artists in Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Missouri.
Individual workshops cost $15 per person. A festival package costs $50,
and includes a choice of all workshops, the family concert and children’s
activities. Prices vary for all activities. For more information or to register,
contact Maureen Korte at Maureen.Korte@iowa.gov
or 515-281-4132, or visit www.iowahistory.org.
The State Historical Building is at 600 E. Locust Street in the heart of
Des Moines’ Historic East Village. Terrace Hill is at 2300 Grand Avenue
in Des Moines.
