John Willoughby: Greene Publishing, Inc.
The Fifth Annual Madison County Florida Storytelling Festival (MCFST) was celebrated on Saturday, Nov. 17, on the Wally Davis Farm in Madison. Hundreds of people from near and far, young and not so young, gathered under a big tent to listen to stories told by student storytellers, Madison County storytellers and professional storytellers.
Husband and wife team, James Glaser and Wanda Violet reported that some people came at 10 a.m. and stayed to the last story at 4 p.m., while others came for a couple of hours, left to do something else and returned until catch a couple more stories. Still, others came when they could, some arriving at 12 p.m. or 1 p.m.
Regardless, each hour was jam-packed with stories of all kinds. Students from Greenville Elementary School and Madison Creative Arts Academy impressed all the listeners with their creativity and their courage to stand up on a stage and engage an audience. Local folks told stories of their lives and experiences which included: three tales by local former military men James Glaser, Joe Boyles and Billy Washington; a spiritual tale of victory from Rosa Richardson; and a tale of a run-away go-cart adventure from Wanda Violet.
Professional tellers Linda Schuyler Ford, Robyn Rennick and Holly Bebernitz enriched the day's events by telling stories with warmth and polish. This was Ford's and Rennick's second time on the MCFST stage and Bebernitz's fifth time. Everyone was glad they had returned to tell again.
For the second year, listeners enjoyed stories on the open stage from tellers who simply put their names in a hat and waited to be called to the microphone. The topics varied and the entertainment factor was high as folks told their stories.
Lunch was provided by the youth group from the Madison Church of God with donations benefiting their group's mission-outreach projects. Ashley Hollingsworth oversaw the dessert table that received donations for the tasty sweet treats baked with love by the Madison Woman's Club. The donations from that effort are going to a fund started by Pinetta and Lee Elementary Schools to help restore and restock the Blountstown Elementary School's library after damage caused by Hurricane Michael.
"This year was a stellar anniversary event," said Violet, event co-producer. "We are so grateful that the community supported us and came together to make this fifth festival one for the record books." Glaser added, "We have some big changes coming for our sixth festival that will be a huge step toward making this a regional and local event not to be missed!"
MCFST will be hosting workshops during the summer of 2019 that will provide young and old with opportunities to learn more about how to craft and tell stories. More information can be found by contacting Wanda Violet or James Glaser at (850) 973-8813 or storieswv@gmail.com.