Dangberg Historic Park in Minden hosting storytelling festival June 17-18

The Home Ranch Storytelling Festival brings award-winning tellers to the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on June 17-18. The featured tellers at this year’s event are Stephen Henegar, BZ Smith, Peg Reza and Rochelle Hooks. The weekend includes a special storytelling workshop, as well as performances by members of the Mother Lode Storytelling Guild.

“The Dangberg Home Ranch is the perfect place for Nevadans to experience the art of storytelling,” said the park’s curator, Mark Jensen. “Stories have the power to influence, entertain and teach, and the talented tellers we’ve invited will appeal to all ages.”

The event is sponsored by SoaringNV, The Record-Courier, Carson Valley Accounting, Bently Enterprises, Holiday Inn Express, and the Frances C. and William P. Smallwood Foundation. Entrance to two evening shows on Friday and Saturday, June 17-18, is $5 for adults, free for 16 and younger and members of the Friends of Dangberg Home Ranch.

Tickets are available for purchase at Battle Born Wine in Gardnerville and 88 Cups & More in Minden. Tickets are also available at dangberg.eventbrite.com. Tickets will also be available at the gate, unless the event sells out beforehand.

A morning show specifically for children on June 18 is free for everyone and tickets are not needed.

Each show will be opened by tellers from the Mother Lode Storytelling Guild in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills. The Guild’s mission is to help storytellers strengthen their skills, encourage new tellers to find their voices, and build audiences for the art of storytelling while working in cooperation with the National Storytelling Network.

On Friday, June 17, Rochelle Hooks will be the featured performer in a multi-teller show that begins at 6:30pm. Entitled “A Legacy of Love, Life and Laughter through Storytelling,” Hooks’ performance spins yarns from her storytelling background that started in her childhood and has lasted throughout her life as both an educator and storyteller.

Dr. Hooks, a professor of education at the College of Southern Nevada and the director of the Nevada Storytelling Guild, has been an educator and storyteller for almost 40 years. She has honed her storytelling skills in various areas, including multicultural, literary and personal tales to gatherings at workshops, schools, and community events. She enjoys teaching the craft of storytelling to teachers, families and other professionals, using the power of storytelling as a vehicle to teach, entertain and heal.

Opening for Hooks are Esperanza Phoenix and Linda Kennedy, members of the Mother Lode Storytelling Guild. Phoenix has a background in live theater, and her stories and poems have appeared in several publications. Recently, she has become more focused on comedic writing and performance for adults. She features stories of misadventure from her time spent living in Costa Rica.

Linda Kennedy has been telling stories for almost thirty years, and has told to audiences of all ages in schools, libraries, festivals, community organizations, and more. She is also a member of Foothill Storytelling Guild, Sacramento Storytelling Guild, and National Storytelling Network, and for the past seven years has been the emcee for the Open Telling Concert at the Sierra Storytelling Festival.

On Saturday, June 18, there are two shows. The first, from 10:00-11:30am, is specifically for children, though adults are welcome. The show features Bettizane “B.Z.” Smith and her storytelling partner, Peg Reza. This show is a free event for everyone.

B.Z. Smith has been a professional storyteller for 40 years, and is a retired teacher. She has earned several major awards for her work, including a Parents’ Choice Gold Award for her first recording, a showcase teller for the 2005 National Storytelling Festival, and a National Storytelling Network Oracle Award for Service and Leadership. Peg Reza has performed and taught music throughout the West. A songwriter and musical arranger, she is the director of Columbia State Historic Park’s Blue Shoes Auxiliary Ukulele Orchestra and a teacher at many ukulele conferences. Both women have been regular featured performers at the Strawberry Music Festival and other venues.

Linda Kennedy, along with her storytelling partner, Joan McCammon, will open the Saturday morning show as “The Do Tell Duo.” The Duo mostly tells to children and brings music, chants, physicality and “plain old fun” to their storytelling.

McCammon has been telling stories in a variety of settings for the past twenty years. She began in Santa Clarita, CA, by portraying historical figures in the American Association of University Women’s “Women in History” program. She has lead school field trips as an outdoor educator and storyteller, and has been a school librarian. She is a founding member of the Foothill Storytelling Guild.

Award-winning teller Steven Henegar is the featured performer in Saturday’s second, multi-teller show at 6:30pm. “Likely Stories” celebrates the stories people use to share their lives. From the family stories that bind us together to the outright silliness that keeps us sane, Henegar weaves a mix of personal and family stories, tall tales, legends, and traditional American stories of adventure and magic.

Henegar has told stories professionally for more than twenty-five years, including four years as artist-in-residence at various colleges through the North Carolina Visiting Artist Program. He is the founder of the Piedmont Storytelling Festival and has worked with Washington State Cultural Enrichment, North Carolina Mountain Arts, and South Carolina Arts in Education programs. He was the director of the storytelling program for Stagebridge, America’s longest running senior theater company in Oakland, CA. He also performs, lectures and leads workshops for theaters, colleges and universities, arts councils, museums, story and folk festivals, and professional organizations.

B.Z. Smith and Peg Reza will perform again prior to Henegar, along with another member of the Mother Lode Storytelling Guild, Donna Porter.

For several years, Porter has told stories for The Great Dickens Fair and Holiday Party at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, portraying “Mrs. Story,” a character from Victorian England. She also tells stories about the early days of California, the world of farming, and fantasy tales.

B.Z. Smith will also conduct a special workshop, “Storytelling for Museum Docents,” from 2:00-4:00pm on Saturday, June 18. The program teaches museum staff and volunteers the basics of storytelling and how it can be used to help visitors. Though geared to museum workers, anyone is welcome at the workshop.

The workshop fee is $20/person and includes tickets to the Friday and Saturday evening storytelling performances that weekend. Pre-registration is required and can be done by writing to info@dangberghomeranch.org, or calling 775-783-9417.

The festival is an outdoor event, and visitors should bring their own seating. Dogs should be left at home. The park is a Douglas County facility and is subject to all applicable rules and regulations. For more information, visit dangberghomeranch.org. The park’s full 2016 event schedule is available at the park’s website.