Date: November 12, 2010
Contact: Lindsay Gladstone
Governors State University
Phone: (708) 534-7090
Fax: (708) 534-8399
Email: l-gladstone@govst.edu
For Immediate Release
GSU Hosts Storytelling Festival
University Park, Illinois, November 12, 2010 - Five master storytellers will delight and captivate the audience at “Tellebration!,” a free, international event hosted by Governors State University on Saturday, November 20, at 7 p.m., in Sherman Recital Hall on GSU’s main campus in University Park.
“Tellebration!” storytelling presentations will take place simultaneously across the United States and in a number of foreign countries, said Lynne Clayton, producer of the GSU event. GSU is one of 400 official sites around the world that will be hosting storytelling events on the same day.
“This is the first time for “Tellebration!” in the south suburban area,” said Clayton, who is Office Manager in GSU’s College of Education and an avid storyteller. “We are pleased to be offering it at GSU and very excited about our lineup of outstanding storytellers, two of whom have national reputations.”
Storytellers at the GSU event are:
The Rev. Linda L. Briggs, an ordained minister and inspirational storyteller, who is enthusiastic about providing positive messages for her audience. Many of her stories have an African American theme.
Neil Whitam has entertained audiences more than 1,000 times in the last 18 years. He is a native of Hastings, Nebraska, and a former Chicago area school teacher.
Karen Slager is a children’s librarian at the Highland (Indiana) Public Library, as well as a member of the Northwest Indiana Storytelling Guild.
Daniel Hechenberger is assistant professor of social studies education at GSU. He is a former interpretative ranger at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis and founder of Nipwaantiikaani, an educational non-profit organization that researches Midwest Native American history.
Lynne Clayton has been active in storytelling for several years is a frequent teller at schools, day care centers, nature centers, and senior citizen centers. In 2008, she participated in the “Storytime, Anytime” project at Richton Park Public Library, which created 12 DVDs of stories from 12 tellers.
All “Tellebration!” storytellers perform free of charge. Voluntary donations of non-perishable food items or money made at this free event will go directly to the Rich Township Food Pantry.
Governors State University is located at 1 University Parkway, University Park, IL. For further information, call (708) 534-3075.
