PROFESSIONAL STORYTELLERS
TO BE AT LOUIE BLUIE FESTIVAL
June 2008 - From LaFollette Press in LaFollette, Tennessee written by Charlotte Underwood
Folk stories will come to life at this year's Louie Bluie Festival.
Two professional storytellers will be featured in the Norris Highlands Folklife Tent at the Louie Bluie Music and Arts Festival
on June 14.
I think this will add huge new dimensions to the festival said festival co-chair Joceyln Griffo. The three main thrusts of
our festival is to enhance and present the music, storytelling and art of the regional heritage, she continued.
One of the featured storytellers is Diane Hackworth. Though she has a masters degree in storytelling, Hackworth earned her
storytelling credentials while growing up in Tennessee and hearing stories from her parents and grandparents.
At the festival, Hackworth will tell Jack Tales, which depict a fictional, well-rounded, self-reliant hero named Jack.
The Jack Tales were brought to Appalachia by Scotch-Irish immigrants, whose culture influenced the Appalachian notions of
self sufficiency and taking care of one's own, according to Hackworth.
Another featured storyteller will be Debbie Dunn who is more widely known as DJ Lyons.
A professional storyteller since 1989, Dunn has spent the years traveling the United States telling stories and teaching storytelling.
Her repertoire includes ghost stories, a one-woman theatre piece titled The Bell Witch Unveiled, as well as international
and Appalachian folk tales.
At the festival, she plans to present The Bell Witch Unveiled, recounting the strange events, which allegedly happened to
the Bell family of Adams, Tenn., from 1817 to 1935.
Not all the stories will be tall tales. There will be other storytellers performing at the festival as well.
Former LaFollette residents Oscar Sheppherd and Fannie Kellogg will be on stage talking about the African-American community
in Campbell County and what it was like when they were growing up in the area.
Local Civil War historian and author Greg Miller will also be giving a presentation about the Civil War and Campbell County.
There will be discussions and presentations about the stories and music of the Cumberlands and the blues genre as well.
These professional storytellers are just going to be amazing. I don't think we've seen anything like this before, said Griffo.
For more information regarding the Louie Bluie Festival, log onto
www.louiebluie.org
or contact the host organization at
CCCHighlanders@aol.com.
NORRIS HIGHLANDS TENT BROUGHT THE PAST TO LIFE AT THIS YEAR'S LOUIE BLUIE FESTIVAL
June 2008 - From LaFollette Press
in LaFollette, Tennessee written by Charlotte Underwood
This year's Louie Bluie Festival had it all, including music, history, tall tales and ghost stories.
During the festival on Saturday, the Norris Highland's Folklife tent was abound with regional history and folklore.
It was a great success this year. There were large crowds for each performance. I think the storytellers did great and drew
a lot of attention, said Norris Highlands co-chair Nancy Green.
Professional storyteller and Anderson County native Dianne Hackworth entertained the audience with old-fashioned Jack Tales
and musical ballads. Many of her stories depicted life as it was in the Appalachians years ago. Hackworth used storytelling
not only as entertainment, but also as an educational method and a way of preserving the past.
Debbie Dunn, better known under her pen name of DJ Lyons, also brought the past to life with her theatrical performance
of the Bell Witch Unveiled.
Dunn told the story of the strange events which happened to the Bell Family in Adams, Tennessee, from 1817 to 1935.
Children and adults alike sat with rapt attention as Dunn recounted the historical tale of the haunting of the Bell family.
She added a new twist on an old story by portraying Cate Batts. Batts was the woman who was wrongly accused of haunting the
Bell family, according to Dunn.
"I had a great time at the Louie Bluie Festival. I would love to be a part of it every year, said Dunn.
The Norris Highlands tent had music and history too.
The Pinnacle Mountain Boys performed traditional Bluegrass music and recounted the history of Bluegrass as well.
The history continued when Cumberland Trail Park Manager Bob Fulcher presented music and history from the Cumberland Trail.
Sparky and Rhonda Rucker rocked the stage with their eclectic sound and the musicians panel provided an in-depth look at the
history of music and the African American community in Campbell County, according to Green.
It was fabulous and so well organized. The Louie Bluie Festival is heading for something big. I think it's going to become
very well known. said Hackworth who plans on coming back next year and bringing some friends.
Photos shown above by Charlotte Underwood
