by AdriAnne Larsen
alarsen@cherryroad.com

Acclaimed storyteller Adam Booth is among the headliners as the storytelling festival returns to Vernal in March.

The Vernal Storytelling Festival, put on by the Uintah Schools Foundation, will be held the weekend of March 20-21. Festival proceeds will go directly to the foundation. Booth is just one of the renowned storytellers coming to the event.

He is the 2022 West Virginia folk artist of the year. His original stories blend traditional mountain folklore, music, and an awareness of contemporary Appalachia.

Booth has made appearances at some of the premiere storytelling events across the nation, including the Kennedy Center Millenium Stage, the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, the International Storytelling Center, the National Storytelling Festival, the Appalachian Studies Association Conference, the Nation Storytelling Conference, and the National Academy of Medicine.

He is also a member of the Recording Academy and his recordings have received a Parents’ Choice Gold Award, two Parents’ Choice Silver Honors, and four Storytelling World Awards and Honors.

Booth is excited to come to the Uintah Basin and the foundation is excited to have him here to share his talents with attendees of the festival.

The foundation has also invited Megan Hicks to perform at the festival. Hicks was featured as a New Voice at the National Storytelling Festival in 2011, and her credits range from small venues in rural America to regional stages throughout the United States and international programs on three continents.

Hicks has been awarded a Parents’ Choice Silver award, a Parents Guide to Children’s Media Award, and a Storytelling World Award. She had always thought from the time she was very young that writing and performing might be a good career path for her.

“I’m all grown up now and I’m telling stories around the world, writing a lot of the stories I tell and, when I’m not performing, making art that people want to play with,” she said. “I’ve realized all three of my life’s ambitions.”

The Storytelling Festival began in 2003 as the Indian Summer Storytelling Festival, “Indian Summer” meaning the extra-long days at the end of a hot summer. Over time its name, as well as the time of year in which it is held, has changed. Those who run the festival are volunteers who have a love for storytelling.

The festival events are available on a Monday and Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. To learn more, visit www.vernalutahstorytelling.com.