Telling Tales at the WV Storytelling Festival

Storytellers Fred Powers, Adam Booth, Susanna Holstein and Ilene Evans were the featured tellers at the annual West Virginia Storytelling Festival at Jackson's Mill near Weston, WV on October 14 and 15, 2015. 

Over 1000 school children attended over the two-day event. This festival has been in existence since 1996 and continues to attract schools that bring children to hear some of the finest of West Virginia's storytellers.

Fred "Powerhouse" Powers tells tales from his years of experience as a coal miner in McDowell County. A retired miner, Fred taught middle school before retiring a second time; he is now writing stories and performs widely as a storyteller. Fred is a WV History Hero.

Ilene Evans shares traditional folk tales and songs as well as stories from the African American experience, often appearing as History Alive character Harriet Tubman. Her performances include music, dance and sometimes multilingual stories.

Adam Booth tells Appalachian stories and original tall tales. He also sings ballads and folk songs and plays a variety of musical instruments. Adam is a multiple-time winner of the WV Liars Contest and was a featured New Voice at the National Storytelling Festival in 2015.

Susanna "Granny Sue" Holstein also tells traditional Appalachian folk tales including Jack tales, tall tales, ghost stories, historical stories and family stories. She sings Appalachian and British ballads and often tells stories about her husband's childhood in the coalfields of southern Kanawha county, WV. She leads an annual ghost walk in her county's seat or Ripley, WV.