First Wyoming Story Telling Circle this weekend

THERMOPOLIS – During the Big Horn Basin Folk Festival Saturday and Sunday there will be a special event, the first Wyoming Story Telling Circle. The Storytelling Circle will be open in the big tent in Hot Springs State Park in Thermopolis from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. both days.

“This year we have a very special event, the first Wyoming ‘Storytelling Circle.’ Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of art and one of the first to which we as children are exposed. Before the internet, television and radio, people told stories around campfires, on porches and anywhere where families or friends gathered. We still do and we are celebrating storytelling with a special Storytelling Tent and some good storytellers, whose repertoire ranges from tall tales to traditional stories,” Hot Springs Greater Learning Foundation Director Sue Blakey said.

We all tell stories every day, from what happened at work to the fish that got away but the storytellers at the festival have certain criteria that they must follow.

“It needs to be a good story, it needs to be words. It needs to be told so that it is interactive. Some of the stories go 15 – 20 minutes but most of the time the stories are fairly short. In a real storytelling festival, which we have based this one on, they (storytellers) are moderated with standards such as length and time. We stick to a certain length for certain kinds of stories, but the interactive is the most important,” Blakey said.

The fact that the stories that will be heard is the most important part of a storytelling circle. “That’s one of the big differences between storytelling and theater. They (theater) aren’t interacting with the audience. Storytelling is much closer than that, the storyteller is part of the audience,” Blakey said. “That’s what makes it different from television or radio or from video games,” she added.

The storytellers come from as far away as New Orleans to as close as Thermopolis. “We will have a base of five storytellers with 10 others making special appearances throughout both days,” Blakey said. The special appearances will range from stories in poetry form to stories set to music, she added.

While everyone tells stories, some storytellers are specifically trained in the art of storytelling. “A story can be about anything. Lots of times, when they (storytellers) are training they will be asked to tell about the holiday that they remember best, the best meal that they ever ate or family traditions. Those stories call up memories, like remembering the time my aunt burned the turkey to a crisp, so we ate fish for Thanksgiving, type of memories,” Blakey said.

Listening to the stories of the storytellers at the festival may bring up memories for attendees as well and motivate some to tell their own stories. “We would love to have people participate,” Blakey said. “It’s going to be a really good time,” she added.