The storytelling festival is back; Event hosted by local storyteller Michael Cotter
Published 10:22 am Tuesday, November 1, 2016
- Chuck Suchy opens the “... And That’s My Story” event last year at the Hormel Historic Home. Herald file photo
After a 10-year hiatus and a successful weekend in 2015, “…And That’s My Story,” Austin’s storytelling festival, will be held on Friday and Saturday at the Hormel Historic Home in Austin.
A Friday night dinner theatre and Saturday morning workshop and open stage will be featured.
Michael Cotter, a nationally-known, award-winning storyteller, will host the programs and share stories of his family’s Irish Catholic heritage and 140 years of farming west of Austin.
The dinner theatre and workshop performers include Nothando Zulu of Minneapolis, president of the Black Storytellers Alliance, who shares history and folk tales in the African-American tradition; Chuck Suchy of Mandan, North Dakota, whose songs and stories describe the people and the rugged beauty of the Great Plains; Bev Jackson Cotter, who shares her love of history as seen through the eyes of individual and sometimes controversial personalities; and Jack Koppa, whose concertina music sets the lively pace of the evening and welcomes dinner theatre-goers.
Holly Johnson, executive director of the Hormel Historic Home, said last year’s event drew about 100 and is looking to an even larger turn-out.
Attendees to the “And That’s My Story” event last year at the Hormel Historic Home take in the music and stories of Chuck Suchy. Herald file photo
“I feel this is a unique event not offered anywhere else in our region,” she said. “It is such a different form of entertainment. We all love stories and these just draw you in.”
The dinner theatre social hour starts at 5:30 p.m., with dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the storytelling concert beginning at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $30; concert-only tickets are $15. Tickets for the dinner theatre will be sold through Thursday.
Tickets for only the concert can be purchased up until the event.
Saturday morning’s “Connect With the Tellers” begins with coffee and donuts at 9 a.m. and concludes with an open mike lasting until 11:30 a.m. Tickets are available at the Hormel Historic Home, 208 Fourth Ave. N.W., Austin.
For more information, call Michael Cotter, 507-373-4748, Discover Austin, 507-437-4563 or the Hormel Historic Home, 507-433-4243.
The event is co-sponsored by Discover Austin, Hormel Historic Home and the Cedars Senior Living Community.
