Storytelling festival slated for Saturday
Mar. 4—For Barry Stewart Mann, there's nothing like a good story. The Atlanta-based actor and artist has traveled the world and along the way, he has soaked up various pieces of folklore and tradition.
"I love exploring other cultures and have been fortunate to be able to travel a fair amount in my life to places such as Argentina, Turkey, Scotland and Japan," he said.
"Folk tales, for me, are another way of traveling. They remind us that people around the world lead parallel lives and have similar concerns, no matter how different our cultures."
Today, Mann travels throughout the southeast to share these pieces of tradition. And on Saturday, he'll be making a stop in Brunswick to perform at the Big Read's Storytelling Festival.
Slated for 10 a.m. at Mary Ross Waterfront Park in Brunswick, professional storytellers like Mann will be on hand to share tales from around the world. Mann is thrilled to return to the coast where he will regale audiences with various myths related to the 2021 Big Read book, "Circe."
"I enjoy telling stories because it is a performance form in which there is direct contact with the audience — it really is like a dialogue. The audience helps to shape the story by their responses. And it is so much fun to see people's faces," he said.
"I've also always loved ancient myths, and so am pleased that, in keeping with the theme of the Festival and the Big Read, in one of my sets I'll be sharing my retellings of a couple of popular Greek myths."
Like Mann, Gwendolyn Napier is another Atlanta storyteller who will be making her way to the Port City this weekend. Known professionally as Miss LuvDrop, she shares many tales from her ancestral homeland including African myths and the Anansi stories.
"I enjoy and love sharing and reading stories with children, youth and adults. Reading has always been a favorite time in my home from childhood and even now as an adult," she said. "Fables, folktale, tall tales, historical portraits and so many others can capture my attention and take me on many storytelling journeys."
While Mann and Napier will be visitors, one storyteller on the agenda will likely be recognizable to attendees.
Kelly Greene, the ever-popular Ms. KK, will return to share her popular presentation for Little Read participants, who are enjoying, "If I Had a Gryphon" as their Big Read selection.
And while she's still sharing stories with the Marshes of Glynn Libraries online, Greene is looking forward to some fun face-to-face interactions with audiences.
"Even though I still 'see' all my book buddies virtually every week on Facebook Live, it's not the same as interacting with them in person," she said.
"So when Heather at Golden Isles Arts & Humanities reached out to me regarding the Big Read Storytelling Festival, I jumped at the chance to perform. I just can't wait to share stories and sing songs with them again."
For her part, Heath was glad Greene joined the lineup of performers for the festival. As this year's Big Read has been surrounded by uncertainty, the executive director of GIAH is grateful to be able to offer something exciting outdoors.
And so far, the Big Read programming has been moving along seamlessly. As it enters its second month — an extended timeline due to the pandemic — Isles readers will be given even more time to explore the story.
"We wanted to extend the Big Read into March as some folks still were feeling uncomfortable coming out due to COVID during February. But with the vaccine rollout and the change in weather, I think there are more folks that feel OK with in-person events and we can have something outdoors (like the festival)," she said.
"Since we were not sure exactly how things would go this year, I am very pleased with the response. The presentation by Circe author Madeline Miller which was live streamed to our Facebook page was very well received. There was great participation with wonderful questions. And we have more events coming up this month both in person and online."
