HISTORY
Telling Stories Since 1985
Stone soup storytelling festival
- Created in 1985 from visionary and librarian Dixie Page and educator Judy Wyatt.
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- *In an effort to rebuild our community
- *In 1988 became a charitable organization and was designated as the official storytelling festival of South Carolina
- *1989 approved as a 501c3
- *The beginning and growth, diversity in story genres
- From primarily traditional Appalachian tales and folktales with well-known storytellers like: Heather Forest, Jackson Gilman, David Holt, Jon Spelman, Kathryn Windham and Tommy Scott Young
- Into a new generation of upstarts and premier performers of today’s stages like Adam Booth, Tim Tingle, Leeny Del Seamonds, Donna Washington, Sheila Arnold, Ingrid Nixon, Jeff Doyle, Anne Rutherford, Cooper Braun, Rachel Harding, Simon Brooks and Paul Strickland
- Along with local Carolinas talents like Tim Lowry, Linda Goodman, Cora Newcomb, Lona Bartlett, Frances Lee O’Neal, Darion McCloud, John Thomas Fowler, Yasu Ishida and Ray Christian
- Our storytellers come from all around the nation and represent a variety of cultures and storytelling genres
- * 2015 birth of New Voices and additions
- Through the vision and guidance of storyteller, author, friend and board member, Linda Goodman
- Focus on upstarts and newcomers to the storytelling stage, up and coming storytellers and tellers that have never been a featured teller on our Main Stage
- A reputation for supporting and promoting fresh, unknown, new talent
- Giving tellers what we the call “the Stone Soup bump”
- Explosion of appreciation for storytelling
*UniGon, Pop-Up Events and Community Conversations
*A vision for the Future
Art Exhibits, Workshops, Educational Programs, Open Mic and more….there are many ways to tell a story
STONE SOUP
Storytelling History in woodruff, sc
The moral of the Stone Soup story – “by working together, contributing what you can, a greater good is achieved”.
The city of Woodruff is a ”hidden jewel” located in southern Spartanburg County of South Carolina
- * Built on agriculture and textiles with a rich history of service to our country, education and community
Transformation into the Stone soup storytelling institute
A re-evaluation of services and opportunities offered
- * Programs to include not only traditional storytelling but stories through spoken word, music, art, dance, conversation and any other experience that promotes connection, communication, community and creativity
- * 2018 Stone Soup found a permanent home at MUSE 134- Stone Soup at MUSE 134
- Through the vision of Tom Davies and Karyn Page-Davies with friends support
- With the mission to create and preserve the intimate small town feeling and atmosphere of traditional storytelling while expanding the variety of artistic experiences
- To continue to expand the power of stories through the arts with foci on diversity, equity and inclusion
- To stimulate creativity and imagination
- To create a welcome place for everyone to experience a little magic “just listening to the sound of a voice”
