Island Storytelling Festival: New Waves in Summerside
For those who love a good story, the Island Storytelling Festival: New Waves, set for Sept. 21 and Sept. 29, is a must- attend event.
The festival, presented by Wyatt Heritage Properties Incorporated of Summerside, is made up of two unique styles of storytelling.
The first event on Saturday, Sept. 21, beginning at 7: 30 p. m. at Eptek Art and Culture Centre on Summerside’s waterfront, will feature the storytelling of Clara Dugas, a proud Acadian storyteller from the Clare region of Nova Scotia.
She is noted as being an engaging, riveting and humorous storyteller extraordinaire. Her stories, drawn from childhood memories and various life experiences, delight with their candor, authenticity and surprising plot twists. They also appeal to all ages and interests.
Dugas has been a member of Storytellers of Canada- Conteurs du Canada since 1994, and has performed at festivals throughout the region and across the country.
Wyatt Heritage Properties Incorporated spokesperson, Lori Ellis, is delighted that Dugas is attending the festival.
“Going with the one storyteller for the evening is a real change for the festival that usually features three tellers, but it was a format we have wanted to explore over the nine- year life of the festival.
“This was the year to give it a try when Dugas said she was willing to participate in our festival and carry the 90- minute program,” says Ellis.
Tickets for the evening can be purchased at the door for $ 10. Refreshments will be served.
The second event on Sunday, Sept. 29, is being held in conjunction with Culture Days.
This time the storytelling will take the format of radio dramas. Actual stories of events in Island history were researched through the MacNaught History Centre and Archives and turned into short radio scripts.
On the evening of Sept. 29, the audience will get to see and hear amateur voice actors and sound personnel, known as Foleys, along with a musician, as they record the dramas in the same manner as early live radio.
Six dramas covering such topics as fire and wheelmen will be recorded.
The audience will also be treated to storytelling by Dorothy Jackson, a native of Summerside, and story through song with Patricia Brooke.
Admission is free as part of the Culture Days celebration.
“The recording of the radio dramas is one of my favourite programming events of the year in that it brings together so many members of our community in creating an artistic product that captures the historic flavor of our I s land,” say s Ellis.
The radio dramas will be recorded at Eptek Art and Culture Centre, 130 Harbourside Dr., Summerside, starting at 7: 30 p. m.