October 23–31, 2020 @ Exchange Place
KINGSPORT, TN – The Exchange Place, Kingsport, Tennessee will hold its popular storytelling event, Witches Wynd, Oct. 28, as a virtual event.
Beginning on Friday, Oct. 23 and available through Oct. 31 – Halloween night, when witches ride the night sky – you can log onto witcheswynd.com and see five noted storytellers weave their tales of ghoulies and ghosties and things that go bump in the night. Exchange Place is suggesting a donation of $7, which can be paid right at the time of viewing with any major credit card. If you want to watch this special Witches Wynd more than once, you will be asked to make the $7 donation each time. However, unlike previous years, when people were only able to attend on the Friday and Saturday nights prior to Halloween, this year there will be multiple opportunities to log on, from the convenience of your home, and hear these stories.
The line-up includes:
Judy (Butterfly) Farlow has been educating and performing for more than 20 years, from backyard picnics to the White House. A national award-winning storyteller, she is a performing member of the Jonesborough Storytellers Guild, participates with the National Storytelling Network, and has appeared at numerous festivals and events, including Gatlinburg’s Smoky Mountain Tales and Tunes, and the Virginia Renaissance Faire.
Agnese Goin holds a master’s degree in storytelling from East Tennessee State University. She has been a Storyteller in Residence at Lincoln Elementary School for 12 years and Washington Elementary School for two years. Agnese says that teaching storytelling to children is the highlight of her week.
Hannah Harvey, Ph.D., is a nationally-knownstoryteller and an award-winning teacher, with a doctorate in oral history performance (performance ethnography). She has performed at the National Storytelling Festival, the International Fringe Festival in Scotland, Yale University and in three storytelling courses with The Great Courses. Dr. Harvey specializes in Appalachian oral histories and has worked as a consultant for physicians, pastors and psychiatrists on the power of storytelling to shape cultural identity.
Libby Tipton is a staff interpreter at the Tennessee School for the Deaf, following many years as the Interpreter Coordinator at East Tennessee State University, where she worked with students who are deaf and hard of hearing. This came naturally to her, having grown up with deaf parents, which necessitated learning various methods of communication. A member (and past president) of the Jonesborough Storytellers Guild, she loves telling tales from the Appalachian Mountains.
Judy Womack has been a professional storyteller and actor for more than 30 years. Her use of dramatic movement and the spoken word allows stories to come alive and encourages listeners to stretch their imaginations. A past recipient of the Arts Council of Kingsport’s Distinguished Artist Award, she has conducted drama and storytelling workshops at Barter Theatre, the Kingsport Ballet and Theatre Bristol, among other venues.
Witches Wynd was begun by Exchange Place volunteer Billee Moore nearly 30 years ago. Vacationing in Scotland with her husband in the early 1990s, they took an evening tour that featured spooky stories while they walked through cemeteries and “wynds,” which we would call alleys. Upon returning to Kingsport, she adapted the idea for Exchange Place.
For more information, call Exchange Place at 423-288-6071.
Exchange Place is a non-profit, volunteer-run living history farm, educational facility and regional attraction that seeks to preserve, protect, interpret, and manage the history, heritage, and artifacts pertaining to mid-19th century farm life in Northeast Tennessee.
Category: Storytelling