A Game of Cards
Mary Fearon and Eleanor Dawson kick off the storytelling festival with a night of traditional ballads and tales where you will meet up with the famous fellow Jack, the Head Card Player of the World and of course the Fair Maid. Mary and Eleanor's performance will be followed by the regular Folk Night open mic. Come share a story, a song, or a tune!

The Queen of Paradise Garden
Andy Jones and puppeteer Darka Erdelji invite you to a public reading of their new performance project, The Queen of Paradise Garden, based on the old Newfoundland Jack Tale of the same name. Discussion to follow.

Second Annual Tall Tale Competition
Host Andy Jones and a trio of judges preside over Newfoundland and Labrador's second open mic tall tale competition, with a $200 cash prize to the teller of the tallest tale! Last year we had giant squid, life-threatening raisin bread, and fog so thick you could cut a path in it with an axe. The tales of 2007 promise to be taller than 2006! Do you have the blarney it takes to walk away with $200 cash?  Read the rules here.

Masonic Temple
FREE (limited registrants, must pre-register)

Conserving the Stories of Historic Places: Lessons from the Shetland Islands and Newfoundland.
The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador presents a one-day workshop on intangible cultural heritage and oral history. Folklorist, author, heritage conservationist and storyteller Davy Cooper will present on the Shetland Amenity Trust, what they do, innovative projects and best
practices. Davy will discuss the role of voluntary organisations in the field of heritage work in rural communities, and discuss areas related to intangible cultural heritage and the use of regional dialect and folklore in more depth. In the afternoon, Anita Best and Chris Brookes will lead a workshop on collecting and utilizing local stories. More details here (pdf).

To register: Contact Lara Maynard by email or phone 709-739-6592 ext 5. DEADLINE: Noon, Wed., Nov. 6, 2007. Limited travel/mileage funding may be available for registrants coming from out of town. Inquire at contact info above.

Memorial University
MMaP Gallery, Arts & Culture Centre
FREE

Ethnomusicology Guest Lecture - Bells, drums, stories and the healing journey
Kira Van Deusen, author of Singing Story Healing Drum - Shamans and Storytellers of Turkic Siberia has travelled extensively in Siberia researching oral storytelling traditions, music, and shamanism with indigenous Turkic and Tungus-language peoples. Kira will explore the ways these arts interrelate in the physical and spiritual landscape, helping shamans, storytellers and the rest of us to cross between worlds. The Research Centre for the Study of Music, Media and Place (MMaP) was established in 2003 to initiate and enable music research within the academic and general community.

Student, faculty and interested listeners are invited to register for the lecture with Janice Tulk (email).

A.C. Hunter Children's Library
FREE

School's Out for Stories!
Start the weekend in the best of ways. The St. John's Public Libraries and the St. John's Storytelling Festival are delighted to sponsor a performance of tales wondrous and strange by renowned Canadian author and storyteller Dan Yashinsky. Stories are appropriate for children aged 4 and up.

Masonic Temple
$10

Tales of the Magical North
The north star guides us ever onwards as Gary Green hosts the Nippik Inuit Drummers, Alice Moores, Davy Cooper, and Kira Van Deusen, with northern stories and music from Labrador, Scotland's Shetland Islands and Siberia.

Newman Wine Vaults
$10

Dale and Dan's Terrible Tales
Newfoundland's own "Ghost Guy" Dale Jarvis returns to his old haunts in the candlelit Newman Wine Vaults for a spine-tingling, late-night performance of ghostly and ghastly tales. This year, Dale is joined by master storyteller Dan Yashinsky, author of Ghostwise: A Book of Midnight Stories. An evening guaranteed to give you shivers! Limited seating.

Masonic Temple
FREE FAMILY SHOW

BEOWULF!!!
Imagine how you would feel if you where the King of Denmark in the 7th century with gold, glory and a big reputation. Your only problem was a 500-pound ugly and stinking troll, named Grendel, killing your men at random. Maybe you would call it a true nightmare, but storytellers 1300 years later call it the magnificent beginning of a great story. Join Denmark's Telling Theatre, sitting face to face around a Viking ship. You feel like you are taking part in the thrilling tale - and who knows, maybe suddenly you do. Suitable for kids 8 and up (and big kids too!) Winner of The Childrens Theatre Award 2006.

Masonic Temple
$25 adults
$15 for seniors, students    and unwaged

Workshop - Music and Storytelling with Kira Van Deusen
For storytellers at all levels who would like to add a touch of music to their telling, or for improvisational musicians who want to work with storytellers. We'll play with improvisational sounds and rhythms using mainly our voices. Bring instruments if you have them. Then we'll discuss and experiment with how a teller can use music to enhance a storytelling, as well as some of the ways it can go astray. Music can add atmosphere or provide a rest for absorbing story details. We'll also discuss the process of storytellers and musicians working together.

Attendees must pre-register with Sandy Woolfrey-Fahey (709-685-3444). (registration form)

Centre scolaire et communautaire des Grands-Vents
65 Ridge Road
Students (< 18) $ 3.00
Adults $ 6.00

Lose Yourself In the Story... With Two Acadian Storytellers
Anita Savoie caught the storytelling bug from her father, who spent many a evening fascinating his listeners with tales of 1001 Arabian Nights. Now a grandmother, she has decided to share her gift with the world. Nelson Michaud began by using the tales of TiJean to teach children. Fate led him to Dalhousie (New Brunswick), where he continued to refine his storytelling skills. If you've never tasted "Anything Goes" soup, you've definitely missed out. For resevations, please contact Xavier at (709) 757 2816 or Steven at (709) 726 0308. Or email here.

Tales, Tunes, and Trolls
Toronto's Dan Yashinsky and Newfoundland's Kelly Russell, two of Canada's most treasured performers, bring us tales of wonder, tunes and recitations. Then, Jesper la Cour Andersen, Troels Kirk Ejsing, and an old-watering can bring to life the almost true, 1300-year-old story of Beowulf.

The Voices in the Vaults
Back by popular demand from 2006's sold-out performance, Tobias and Gerard Pearson return to the Newman Wine Vaults with a selection of delightfully gruesome traditional murder ballads in a special late night candlelit session. This year, the brothers are joined by the haunting sounds of Kira Van Deusen's cello, as she relates the tale of a man who stayed overlong playing music in a cave, and what transpired when he finally emerged. Limited seating.

Storytelling, Peace and Reconciliation - A Workshop for Remembrance Day with Dan Yashinsky
Throughout the world, people are using storytelling to bridge chasms of distrust and prejudice. Folktales and literary stories allow us to examine our attitudes and prejudices on a symbolic level, employing the ancient archetypes to focus on our similarities, rather than on our differences. Personal and family narratives, on the other hand, grant us the rare opportunity of seeing the world through the eyes of another. Sharing experiences he has gained working in collaborations with organizations like UNICEF Canada, award-winning storyteller Dan Yashinsky will show how stories can begin to help us beat our swords into ploughshares. 

Attendees must pre-register with Sandy Woolfrey-Fahey (709-685-3444). (registration form)

The Underground Story Cabaret!
Musician and storyteller Jim Payne takes us underground to close out our festival in style, with a final night extravaganza of stories, with tales from some of our most beloved local and visiting tellers: Helen Porter, Elinor Benjamin, Dan Yashinsky, Davy Cooper, Alice Moores, Alice Lannon and John Ryan!