FESTIVAL WILL OFFER FREE 'GHOST TALES' CONCERT

One of the most popular features of the Spirit of Oklahoma Storytelling Festival is the annual 'GHOST STORIES' session.  Audiences' love this time when lights are dimmed, spines are chilled and hearts race as amazing storytellers share their haunting tales.



Kathryn Thurman

Hear tales from folklore, literature, local history and the imagination by some of the most skilled storytellers in the state.

The masterful master of ceremonies is Kathryn Thurman, well known as a contemporary Native American flutist and storyteller.  She sets the stage in a dramatic and shivery manner for the evening.

Sharing a story for the event will be :

Marilyn A. Hudson, aka, "The Ghost Teller", who has shared stories across the state and been featured performer at the "Spooky Stories and Twilight Tours" fund-raising for the Overholser Mansion four years.  An author, researcher and storyteller she digs into the past to find the secrets and then shares tales of mystery, chilling adventure and hauntings.

 

Others to be announced soon!

 

The best part? This 9 pm concert "Ghost Tales in the Pavilion" is FREE  to the public!

'ROUTE 66' WORKSHOP AT STORYTELLING FESTIVAL

It is a natural fit to offer a workshop on the "Mother Road" since the June 13-14, 2014 Spirit of Oklahoma Storytelling Festival will be held this year on the campus of Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma.

A perfect stop for anyone vacationing along the famous road or anyone wanting to learn more about the over 400 miles of the road in Oklahoma as it travels from Chicago to California.

Workshop leader will be     .

SPONSORS SUPPORT THE STORYTELLING ART IN OKLAHOMA

Territory Tellers /  6619 S. 4382  / Locust Grove OK 74352

 Spirit of Oklahoma Storytelling Festival:   SPONSORSHIP LEVELS

June 13-14, 2014, Bethany, Oklahoma on the campus of Southern Nazarene University

 

Festival Sponsor (1):  $2,500 

Title and logo recognition on event signage and registration packets (Spirit of Oklahoma Storytelling Festival sponsored by ABC Corporation and Territory Tellers) 

Title recognition during pre-event publicity

Title and logo recognition in event program

Festival passes for 10 guests

Title and logo recognition on website

 

Storytelling Concert Sponsor (2):  $1,000 each

Logo and name recognition at sponsored concert

Concert passes for 5 guests for sponsored concert

Prominent signage at sponsored concert

Introduction at sponsored concert

Program recognition

 

Workshop sponsor (3 - Route 66, Religious, and Story Coaching):  $500 each

Logo and name recognition at sponsored workshop

Workshop passes for 2 guests for sponsored workshop

Prominent signage at sponsored workshop

Introduction at sponsored workshop

Program recognition

 

Hospitality Sponsor (2):  $250 each

Logo and name recognition at sponsored reception

Prominent signage at sponsored reception

Opportunity to attend reception and distribute business cards

Program recognition

 

Musical Concert Sponsor (2):  $50 each

Logo and name recognition at sponsored concert

Program recognition

 

Silent Auction Donor (unlimited – receipts given for value over $20) 

Individual donors listed in program. 

 

Please indicate the level of sponsorship you would like to provide. If the sponsorship level you seek has already been taken, we will contact you about another opportunity.  

 

Name______________________________________________________________________________

Company or Organization____________________________________________________________

Mailing Address ____________________________________________________________________

City______________________________________State______________Zip Code_______________

E-mail___________________________________________Phone____________________________

Sponsorship Level Requested_________________________________________________________

 

Please mail this form with your check to Territory Tellers, 6619 S. 4382, Locust Grove OK 74352

Or use PayPal and make payment to territorytellers@hotmail.com.

SPONSORS SOUGHT FOR UPCOMING STORYTELLING FESTIVAL

                                              

“Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can't remember who we are or why we're here.”  Writer Sue Monk Kidd’s idea is shared by Oklahoma’s statewide storytelling organization, Territory Tellers. We have been working for over a quarter of a century to keep stories and storytelling alive in the human heart and soul. 

 

Our annual Spirit of Oklahoma Storytelling Festival is a major effort to do just that in our state. And we are asking for your help in this mission. Please consider being a sponsor for our 2014 festival at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, June 13-14.

 

We launched this festival as a direct result of the 2005 National Storytelling Conference in Oklahoma City, presented by the National Storytelling Network. This conference highlighted the resilience and fortitude of Oklahomans and commemorated the tenth anniversary of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. 

 

A festival sponsorship would provide you with an avenue to reach folks who enjoy a good story, have a real commitment to deepening family and civic ties, and appreciate what you do in your work to encourage both storytelling and community relationships.

 

For the Spirit of Oklahoma Storytelling Festival, different levels of sponsorships are available and listed on the accompanying page, along with the various sponsor benefits.  We are, however, currently in the process of re-establishing our 501.c.3 status and cannot guarantee tax deductions.

 

Should you have any questions about the sponsorships, the festival, or the organization, please visit our website at www.territorytellers.org and contact any of our officers:

 

            President:  Tony Hardman (realchapman@yahoo.com); Phone: 580-651-3708 (mobile)

            Vice President:  Loralee Cooley (storyspinning@sbcglobal.net); Phone: 806-282-9529 (mobile)

            Treasurer:  Paulette Geeslin (pdgeeslin4701@yahoo.com) Phone: 405-412-8960 (mobile)

            Secretary:  Liz Parker (elizabethparker862@yahoo.com); Phone:  405-245-5388

 

Thank you for your time and thoughtfulness in giving this invitation your consideration.  Please expect a follow-up contact soon from one of the board members to discuss any ideas you may have.  And we look forward to welcoming you to the 8th annual Spirit of Oklahoma Storytelling Festival in June.

 (See the entry on the levels of sponsorship available)

 

BIBLICAL STORYTELLING WORKSHOP AT FESTIVAL

The "8th Annual Spirit of Oklahoma Storytelling Festival" June 13-14, 2014 in Bethany, Oklahoma will have concerts, workshops, ghost tales, and small group story swaps.  Among the workshops will be one exploring the use of storytelling to convey the message and values of the Bible. 

At  9:00 to 10:30 Saturday morning will be BIBLE STORIES ALIVE! with Barbara Wright Jones and Cynthia Calloway. In telling the sacred stories of Scripture brings the Bible and its people to life, and engages audiences in the process. This workship is for anyone interested in learning how to tell a story from scripture. 

Leading the workshop will be Barbara Wright Jones and Cynthia Law Calloway.  

Barbara Wright Jones, who is an award winning author, educator, ordained minister and one-time Nazarene missionary to South America, has been sharing stories for many years.   Barbara Wright Jones caught the storytelling fever when she was a child telling spooky tales to her sisters and friends. She grew up in Oklahoma, but as an adult her love for travel took her throughout the United States and Latin America. After returning to her home state she began telling stories professionally. Her years of travel opened a new world, and she continues to draw on that knowledge, adding life and richness to her stories. 

She has written a book of puppet plays, a short collection of bug poems, stories, and songs, several books for Spanish language teachers, as well as a biography, In the Footsteps of the Pioneers. Her most recent book, Rolling Heads and Other Tales to Tell, is medley of stories of Spanish explorers and folk tales of the native people of the Americas. Her stories and articles have been published in several including The Red Dirt Book 2007 Anthology. 

She has performed story programs in many venues across the United States including libraries, story festivals, schools, conferences, and teacher workshops. She travels with a story group, History of the Heart. Her performances include, legends, inspirational stories, family stories, Bible stories, Folk tales, & bilingual stories.


Cynthia Laws Calloway, (M.Ed, LPC (retired)  lives to be a storyteller exemplar. She specializes in telling stories of women from the Bible and African American sheros. She is a lover of Old Negro Spirituals so you may hear her sing some of those songs in her stories.



Cynthia has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and English Literature from The Colorado College, and a Master’s in Education, Guidance and Counseling from University of Central Florida. Yes, she has travels extensively abroad and in the states as a military family member and wife and corporate trainer. She is completing another Master’s degree in Arts and Culture from Phillip Theological Seminary in Tulsa, OK. 

 

Cynthia Laws Calloway

As an Oklahoma Licensed Professional Counseling (LPC, retired) she worked with trauma and families involved in the Murrah Building bombing, the May 3 tornado and the 9-11 terrorist attack. She now enjoys coaching and counseling individuals to overcome barriers to achievements their goals.  Cynthia’s stories are educational, spiritual and emotionally.

She is married to Roosevelt Calloway and has three daughters, three sons-in-laws, 10 grandchildren and three great grandchildren.  She and Roosevelt are both from Florida and hope to retire back there some day.

  

For more information and registration: www.territorytellers.org

The event will be held on the campus of Southern Nazarene University, along historic "Route 66" (now NW 39th Expressway).

COME GET YOUR KICKS ON ROUTE 66!

SPIRIT OF OKLAHOMA STORYTELLING FESTIVAL

The 7^th Annual Spirit of Oklahoma Storytelling Festival will convene in Bethany, Oklahoma on the campus of Southern Nazarene University, June 13-14, 2014.  The location is on the “Mother Road”, historic Route 66, so it will be an exciting time with keynote teller, Kent Rollins, “The Cowboy Cook and Storyteller.” Rollins has been featured with Bobby Flay on the Food Network.  The exciting two-day event is presented by Oklahoma’s only statewide storytelling arts organization, The Territory Tellers.

Along with slingin’ hash, Kent has become pretty good at slingin’ bull as he describes life on the range through poetry and storytelling. Don’t be surprised if Kent gets a chuckle out of you because his poetry and storytelling talents have earned him the Skinny Roland Humor Award for Best Humorist and Storyteller and he was nominated three times for Best Storyteller, all by the Academy of Western Artists.  In addition to Rollins, some of the best of Oklahoma’s very own storytelling artists will be sharing their most tantalizing tales.   On Saturday look forward to Rollins’ workshops on “Dutch Oven Cooking and Maintenance Workshop” and “Western Heritage.”

Professional storyteller Fran Stallings will offer “Positive Feedback: A Coaching Workshop” in a 2 part series on Saturday.  These session focus on providing crucial feedback to a volunteer teller and in the process others can learn ways to improve how they develop as a story artist.

There will lots of opportunity to hear delightful and intriguing tales during the festival. Major evening storytelling concerts, featuring the keynote and select regional artists on both evenings and spread throughout both days are other mini-story concerts (swaps) and always fun informal “table telling.” Vendors, a silent auction and other events will round out activities.

Musical entertainment on Friday night in a special “pre-concert” event will be with prairie jazz band F5 Four playing music inspired by contemporary Oklahoma folklore and iconography.

Other special events will include shivery “Ghost Tales in the Pavilion” at 9 pm on Friday with Kathryn Thurman, Marilyn A. Hudson (The Ghost Teller), and others.  Kathy Anderson will be sharing the history and lore of Route 66, which is Bethany's main street, in a special workshop. Kathy is former president of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association and current president of the Billboard Museum Association.  A new workshop of note this year is “Biblical Storytelling” on Saturday with Barbara Wright Jones and Cynthia Calloway.

Registration begins at 10 am on Friday and goes all day; first session and registration is at 8:00 am on Saturday and goes all day.  There is an admission fee (by day, full event, and some events, such as the Ghost Tales, are free).  All events take place in the Webster Commons building on the campus of Southern Nazarene University, Bethany, Oklahoma.

For more information contact Marilyn A. Hudson (Contact Phone 405-307-0962; Contact Email marilynahudson@yahoo.com)  and see the complete festival schedule and registration information at www.territorytellers.org.