by the Guelph Guild of Storytellers
The Guelph Guild of Storytellers, along with the Guelph Enabling Gardens, is announcing the 2018 line-up for the 11th Annual Tea ‘n’ Tales Storytelling Festival at the Guelph Enabling Gardens. The programme includes five tellers who will be making their debut performances at the festival.
Toronto’s Lynn Torrie combines a lifelong love of stories with almost 30 years of work as an occupational therapist. She enjoys traditional tales that not only entertain, but also teach us how to live well with others and with our environment.
Kait Taylor of Kitchener combines the energy of Red Fraggle, the silly of Gilda Radner, and a peppering of thoughtfulness, and empathy from Mary Poppins… and you end up with Kait’s tales.
Judy Caulfield has been telling stories for over three decades, from school settings, to libraries, to festivals, and to informal song. Paul Caulfield is a singer, guitarist, and mandolin player whose repertoire includes ’60s folk songs, alt-country ballads and playful rockers. He is a member of Credit River Time, a Brampton-based quartet that specializes in old-tyme music and as a solo artist he’s noted for his humorous tellings of the stories behind the songs.
Mary Baldasaro of Kitchener is an educator and storyteller. Her repertoire includes traditional, historical, literary, and original works. She has performed at Latitudes, the Toronto Storytelling Festival, Sharon Temple, and Feminine Harbor.
These artists will be joined by returning performers from both Guelph and elsewhere in the Metro and South-Western Ontario region.
The schedule for the hour-long tellings at the Enabling Gardens in Guelph’s Riverside Park is:
June 29: The wonderful voice of Tannis Slimmon will open this year’s Tea ‘n’ Tales festival. Tannis is a critically acclaimed Canadian musician who has been singing, songwriting, recording, and touring locally, nationally and internationally for over 30 years. Also telling will be local raconteur, Brian Holstein, with his tales and poetry from around the globe.
July 6: Acclaimed local troubadour James Gordon will be returning with his songs of local folks and history, as well as his sometimes stranger-than-fiction tales about being on the road, travelling the continent to entertain. He will be joined by Michael Doherty with his tales of Ireland, old Montreal and little-known history of this country.
July 13: A debut performance by Toronto’s Lynn Torrie, along with local teller, puppeteer, playwright and elocutionist Jay Wilson (“Pandora’s Sox”) who will return with his tales and his poetry.
July 20: Elora storyteller and social activist Donna McCaw for her eleventh season. Donna always charms her audience with her tales, often stemming from her prairie upbringing. Joining her will be one of the Guild’s almost-original members, Ann Estill, who will again tell her thoughtful tales.
June 27: Returning yet again by popular demand will be Mr. Guelph Guitar, Doug Larson, with his stories ranging from his discovery of Ontario’s old cedar tree, to the construction of the Guelph Guitar, to tales of his grandson. Joining him will be Guelph teller, Jenny Higgins, making a return with her energetic tales.
August 3: Jan Sherman will be returning yet again, to the delight of all. Jan is an Anishinaabe Métis woman, mother, storyteller, drummer, and singer. She’ll share stories of her life, and from First Nations traditions. She will be joined by guild tellers.
August 10: Kait Taylor, along with Sarah Abusarar, of Toronto. Sarah, a native of Pakistan, grew up in Croatia, from whence many of her tales were woven. She returns after a successful debut performance last year in Guelph.
August 17: Judy and Paul Caulfield will be joined by local Maryann Bailey and her warm tales.
August 24: Returning for their third summer will be the wonderful duo of Brenda Lewis and Gayle Ackroyd with their musical talents to again please the audience. Also appearing will be Mary Baldarsaro.
August 31: Our final performance for the season will again feature Adwoa Badoe, author, storyteller, and African Dance instructor. This Guelph resident has entertained audiences young and old with her appearances at Toronto and Montreal Storytelling Festivals, Hillside and Eden Mills. Joining her will be another Guelph icon, Sya VanGeest who has told stories to all with an unparalleled passion that draws in her audience.
Each hour-long performance begins promptly at 10:30. It is strongly suggested that audience members bring their own lawn chair, and there will be a free coffee, iced tea or lemonade for the first 30 people who bring their own mug. We will not be supplying any single-use cups (paper or foam) and we encourage people to bring their own mugs.
All performances are free, but donations will be graciously accepted.
For more information contact the organizer, Brian Holstein, at [email protected]
