Thank you to everyone who has reached out to express sympathy and concern since Ruth Looper's passing. Several people have asked whether the festival will continue, so we would like to reassure you that yes, it will. Ruth was a tireless advocate of the art of storytelling in general and of the Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival in particular, so we feel confident that she would want the show to go on. We hope that those of you who are grieving, as we are, will find some solace in honoring Ruth by participating in the April 2025 festival as a story listener, storyteller, volunteer, or sponsor.
Sad news...
With heavy hearts, we share that Ruth Looper, one of the founders of the Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival and a guiding light in its development for the past ten years, has passed away. Ruth possessed deep wells of wisdom, enthusiasm, and joy, and she was a firm believer in the power of stories to change lives. Although her own life story has been cut short, we know that she will live on in the stories of those who were fortunate enough to know her, and that as long as all of us share and reshare those memories, Ruth will remain a vibrant part of the storytelling community she helped to create.
Seeking volunteers
We're seeking volunteers for the 2024 festival. Everyone who helps put on the event is a volunteer, from the organizers to the folks who sweep up at the end. Why do we do it? We love hearing great stories and believe in the importance of bringing storytelling to our area and beyond. Volunteers usually work a 4-hour shift during the festival and receive a free festival ticket, a snazzy t-shirt, and much gratitude.
To learn more and sign up for a job that fits your schedule and interests, see https://forms.gle/c4D6wmYqw4w18FMR9. Thanks!
2024 Teacher's Guide
Teachers: Did you know that you and your students can attend the festival in person and/or watch it online at no cost? We’d love to have you participate! To help you integrate storytelling into your classroom, we’ve put together a brief teacher’s guide that includes information on the tellers who will be featured at the festival, storytelling activities to use in your classroom. and other resources. You’ll find it on the main page of our website. We hope to see you in person or online in April!
Giving Tuesday: November 28, 2023
Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival has joined Giving Tuesday, a global generosity movement that encourages people to transform their communities and the world by giving to help others. This year, as the world celebrates Giving Tuesday on November 28, 2023 (the Tuesday after Thanksgiving), we’re hoping that you can help the Festival celebrate 10 years of bringing the art of storytelling to our area and to online viewers across the globe.
Each year, the Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival gives away hundreds of free tickets to students and teachers, individuals with disabilities, and low-income individuals attending the festival in person and thousands of free tickets to students/teachers watching online. We also offer discounted tickets to senior citizens, military personnel, and others and keep the full-price ticket fee incredibly low. This is to ensure that everyone can have access to the arts.
To help us continue bringing the art of storytelling to our community and yours, please consider donating. A generous festival friend has volunteered to match the first $1000 given, so we’re looking for 100 people who can donate $10 or more in honor of the festival’s 10th anniversary. Can you give at least $10? Can you find a friend who can do the same?
This is what your donation can do:
· $10 pays for a student or teacher to attend the festival in person or for a class to view the festival online
· $50 helps pay for large-print and Braille copies of the festival's program to visitors
· $100 helps to pay for sign language interpreting at the festival
· $200 or more helps to bring top-notch storytellers to the festival
See the donation page on our website for additional giving levels and information.
Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival is a volunteer-run 501c3 organization; therefore, every cent of your donation directly supports GMSF programs. Your tax-deductible donation may be made through the donation page on our website. Alternately, checks may be mailed to Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival at 440 Butternut Creek Road, Blairsville, GA 30512.
Wrapping up and looking ahead
Thank you again to everyone who made the 2023 festival possible: our stellar storytellers, tireless volunteers, generous sponsors, and amazing audience members! The Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival exists because of you! To read our festival wrap-up report and see images of the festival fun captured by Nathan Baerreis, our festival photographer, check out the 2023 festival page on our website: 2023 festival — Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival (gamountainstoryfest.org)
We hope to see you next year for the 10th anniversary Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival: mark your calendar for April 12-13, 2024!
The event will be held in person at The Ridges Resort on Lake Chatuge and will also be recorded to enable online viewing. Our featured tellers for the 2024 festival will be Len Cabral, Nestor Gomez, Michael Reno Harrell, Megan Hicks, and Anne Rutherford.
You can stay on-site for the festival! To take advantage of the festival discount on rooms at The Ridges, call 706-896-2262, ext. #1, and ask for the GMSTF2024 block.
2023 Festival!
The 2023 festival will be here in less than 2 months! The festival will be held in a new venue this year — The Ridges Resort — and will feature five terrific tellers: Donald Davis, Josh Goforth, Carolina Quiroga, Tim Tingle, and Donna Washington. Information about the tellers, the venue, lodging, materials for teachers, opportunities for volunteering, and more can be found on our home page.
We’ll be back to in-person programming but will also be filming festival sessions to share them online, so there are two ways to join in the fun. To reserve tickets: https://2023GMSF.eventbrite.com
To volunteer: Volunteer Preference Form
What's in Store for You
Want to get a sneak peek at the festival? Click here for descriptions of the recorded stories and live sessions, including the workshops that will be taught by our featured tellers!
Online for 2022
IN THE INTEREST OF SAFETY, OUR 2022 FESTIVAL WILL BE HELD ONLINE APRIL 1-2.
We’ll be featuring Sheila Arnold, Bil Lepp, Sam Payne, Gayle Ross, Kim Weitkamp, and many other fantastic tellers. The festival will offer a mix of pre-recorded stories and live (Zoom) workshops and storytelling performances. Everything will be available for 30 days, so you can enjoy the festival online throughout the month of April.
It’s a great deal, too! General admission tickets are just $10 per household, and teachers and students can sign up for free tickets. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE FESTIVAL: 2022 Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival | RegForm.com
We’ll be posting a full schedule and other information on our website soon.
Mark your calendar!
OUR 2022 FESTIVAL WILL BE HELD APRIL 1-2.
We’ll be featuring Sheila Arnold, Bill Lepp, Sam Payne, Gayle Ross, Kim Weitkamp, and many other fantastic tellers. Stay tuned for more details!