A! Magazine for the Arts Archive

Storytelling Festival is filled with history

In Jonesborough, Tennessee, the storytelling capital of the world, tickets are on sale for the National Storytelling Festival, an annual gathering of some of the world’s top talent.

In This Issue

• Festival features international line-up of tellers The National Storytelling Festival features three days of tall tales and personal stories throughout downtown historic Jonesborough.
• Pre-festival and special events abound at Storytelling Festival The National Storytelling Festival includes a handful of special events, workshops and pre-festival events in addition to its signature programming.
• Two competitive marching band festivals held Two marching band competitions are held locally in October.
• Emory & Henry Band raises school spirit Emory & Henry College has the only marching band in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
• Arts for Youth Spotlight — Devin Mitchell Devin Mitchell says he has a drive to create, which led him to art.
• Actors from The London Stage recreate ‘Hamlet’ at East Tennessee State University Although in America, Sir Patrick Stewart may be best known for his leadership of the starship Enterprise on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” he got his start at the Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, England, and joined the prestigious Royal Shakespe
• AAME speaker series continues Arts Alliance Mountain Empire continues its Speaker Series with talks by Libby Falk Jones and Chris Slaughter.
• Arts Array film series continues fall season Virginia Highlands Community College continues the Fall 2018 Arts Array Film Series. Show times are Monday and Tuesday evenings at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the Abingdon Cinemall.
• Wertz photo exhibit opens in Abingdon The grand opening of the new building of the Historical Society of Washington County Virginia is combined with an exhibition of historic photographs, “Abingdon and Washington County through the Lens of Photographer, George N. Wertz 1875-1924.”
• Shelley’s Frankenstein is celebrated for Halloween King University celebrates a centuries-old scare this Halloween season, observing the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” with Institute for Faith and Culture Lecture Series guest speaker Christina Bieber Lake, Ph.D.
• Children’s authors to speak King University welcomes Newbery Honor winners Katherine Paterson and Kimberly Brubaker Bradley to its 2018-2019 King Institute for Faith and Culture Lecture Series Monday, Oct. 22.
• King professor featured in blog series The American Society of Media Photographers recently featured professor Joe Strickland, chair of King University’s digital media art and design program, in the “Questions with an Educator” blog series.

A! Extra

• Charles Vess illustrates book in collaboration with author Ursula K. Le Guin ABINGDON, Va. — Charles Vess grew up reading Spiderman comics in Lynchburg, Virginia.
• Ginny’s Christmas Market to include youth arts this season ABINGDON, Va. — Area youth will have a chance to hear a jingle in their pockets when they sell their own arts and crafts creations at a local fundraising show on Nov. 16 and 17.
• New report on arts attendance shows gains New survey findings from the National Endowment for the Arts show gains in arts attendance totals, rates, and demographic groups plus sizeable growth in poetry-reading.
• Bristol the birthplace of bluegrass? Some say yes BRISTOL, Tenn. — Tim Stafford of Blue Highway stood on stage in direct sight of Tim White’s country music mural on State Street during Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion three weeks ago.
• 3-day Big Stone Gap event features arts, crafts, music, more BIG STONE GAP, Va. — Expect a big weekend with lots to do on Oct. 19-21 at Big Stone Gap.
• 25 bands, 3 exhibition bands from Southern Appalachian region compete at Stone Castle BRISTOL, Tenn. — High school bands from around the Southern Appalachian Mountain region ascended on the Stone Castle in Bristol on Saturday for a historic music competition.
• Barter Theatre's haunted house opens Friday in Bristol, Va. BRISTOL, Va.: No matter what makes your skin crawl — from snakes or spiders to hospital operating rooms, tight spaces, funerals, zombies or the mere sight of blood — a new haunted house will offer heaping helpings of grizzly fright, starting Friday.
• Fourth annual Push! Film Festival highlights variety of films, workshops Lights, cameras, and all sorts of action occupy downtown Bristol’s buzzing hive nowadays.
• Band Jackyl performing at motorcycle rally The hard-rocking Jackyl is performing at what’s being dubbed as a mini-Sturgis motorcycle rally, held at the Holston River Brewing Co. in Bristol, Tennessee. The rally runs Oct. 11-13 at Thunder Mountain Campground, off Volunteer Parkway at 2623 Raceway
• Review: Rainbows have nothing on Barter’s ‘Singing in the Rain’ “Singing in the Rain” has delighted audiences since its first appearance as a movie in 1952 followed closely by the stage version, and I find it impossible to imagine a livelier, better done, more colorful production than the one currently hoofing it
• Review: "A Star is Born" is full of surprises, from Lady Gaga's acting to Bradley Cooper's singing He’s a desperate man, a rock star drinking and drugging himself into a stupor, with family and health issues and no one in his life to right his ship. And then he met her.
• Play review: ‘Great Expectations’ meets and exceeds Catherine Bush’s adaptation and Katy Brown’s direction, coupled with a hauntingly beautiful musical score and phenomenal acting makes “Great Expectations,” Charles Dickens’ penultimate — and many would argue his best — novel, come sparkling to l
• Wingding fling at the Paramount Center for the Arts with Chicks with Hits Make way for a wingding fling through three country catalogs from three country gals.
• Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion Earns International Awards On the heels of its 18th annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion celebration, the Birthplace of Country Music announces that the music festival has earned three awards from the International Festivals & Events Association for its 2017 event.
• Three from ETSU program receive IBMA awards East Tennessee State University announces that alumni, faculty and students of its Bluegrass, Old-Time and Country Music Studies have received 2018 International Bluegrass Music Association awards.