Discounted early bird tickets for the Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival, featuring three world-renowned storytellers, are now available for the June 4 afternoon and evening performances. This popular annual event will return live at the Historic Grove Theater in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Early bird tickets can be purchased online at Eventbrite or the Ferrell Shop (cash or check only) in Oak Ridge. This is a great gift for people of all ages.
Sheila Arnold
The two-day event will feature storytellers Sheila Arnold, Bil Lepp and Kim Weitkamp known to audiences nationwide for their wit, wisdom and abilities to make audiences laugh, cry and reminisce. A workshop by Bil Lepp has been added on Thursday, June 2.
Highlighting the Friday night performance will be acclaimed storyteller Sheila Arnold who will tell the story of the Scarboro 85, the 85 brave young people from Oak Ridge who were the first to desegregate a school district in the South. Few people know of this 1955 milestone event that took place in Oak Ridge. Sheila will honor the Oak Ridge 85 with her story “The Secret City’s Secret City: Scarboro.” Storytellers Bil Lepp and Kim Weitkamp will also perform Friday evening. Friday evening tickets for the 7 p.m. performance are $10 for adults and $5 for children.
There will be three shows on June 4 and the storytellers will share different stories for each performance. The morning family show, from 10 a.m. to noon, will offer tickets at $10 for adults and $5 for school-age children. The afternoon show is from 2-5 p.m. and the evening show is from 7-10 p.m.
Tickets for the afternoon and evening performances are $25 for each show. Early bird pricing is currently available at $40/ticket for both the Saturday afternoon/evening shows. For groups of 10 or more tickets will be $20 each for either the afternoon or evening performances.
Kim Weitkamp
Storyteller Bil Lepp will present a special workshop “Bringing a Story to Life and Including Your Audience in the Experience” on Thursday, June 2, 2-4 p.m. at the UT Arboretum Auditorium in Oak Ridge. Tickets for the workshop are $50 and are also available at Eventbrite and the Ferrell Shop in Oak Ridge. The Ferrell Shop accepts cash or check only.
A first-time special event has been added to this year’s Flatwater Tales. Oak Ridge historian Ray Smith will lead a tour of some historic Oak Ridge sites on Friday, June 3, at 1 p.m. Tickets for this free tour are available on Eventbrite. The event is free, but registration is required. Learn the history of Oak Ridge by spending the afternoon with the Ray.
The Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival is led by volunteers from all three Oak Ridge Rotary Clubs.
Hummingbirds
Join local naturalist Stephen Lyn Bales for a look at hummingbirds at the UT Arboretum Society’s First Thursday Nature Supper Club via Zoom on April 7 at 7 p.m.
Stephen Lyn will entertain and teach us via Zoom about these tiny birds’ life histories and how you can fill your backyard with everything they need.
The program is free, but registration is required to receive your link. Register at www.utarboretumsociety.org. This program will be recorded, and closed captioning is available. Please contact UT Arboretum education coordinator, Michelle Campanis, at mcampani@utk.edu with any questions or registration issues.
Melanie Staten is a public relations consultant with her husband, Vince.