For 22 years, the Kansas City Storytelling Celebration has brought nationally- and regionally-known storytellers to libraries, schools, day cares, community centers, and assisted living centers to ignite interest in the art of sharing stories—from the mythical to the personal—to people of all ages.
This year, Mid-Continent Public Library has created a virtual celebration, November 3-6, to continue this tradition through online resources and social media platforms. The 2021 Kansas City Storytelling Celebration will conclude on Saturday, November 6 with a day of virtual storytelling workshops and concerts.
If you are interested in hosting a virtual storytelling program for your school, classroom, community or care center, please fill out the request form to receive a private YouTube link for a virtual program. Links to programming will be valid from November 3-17. (Links will be sent out beginning Nov. 2)
Please feel free to share the link to this form with others in your organization. If you have questions, please email speterson-davis@mymcpl.org.
Storytelling Celebration School/Organization Playlist Programs
Request access to the Storytelling Celebration Playlist
Search by age group below for the programs featured on the playlist. Links will be sent out beginning Nov. 2.
All Ages/Family Programs
2021 KC Storytelling Celebration: Oodles of Noodles, Celestial Sisters and Seven Silly Fellows
Join the Eth-Noh-Tec Ensemble for a collection of stories, legends, and folktales from across Asia that combine words with synchronized movement. Recommended for all ages.
2021 Storytelling Celebration: Popcorn, Pumpkins, & Secret Ambitions
Settle in with storyteller Carol Birch as she brings to life a set of tales with a hint of autumn and Halloween spice and pop. Recommended for all ages.
2021 KC Storytelling Celebration: ¡Vive el Cuento! Live the Story!
Join storyteller Leeny Del Seamonds for stories and songs featuring precocious creatures and joyful families in not just one but two languages! Recommended for all ages.
Preschool Programs
2021 Storytelling Celebration: Let's Laugh A LOT!
Time for some silly stories and songs from storyteller Heather Harlan. Sing a song about ketchup and join in the story about the Monkey and Two Cats. Sometimes you just need to get giggling! Recommended for preschoolers.
2021 Storytelling Celebration: Celebrate Fall
Join storyteller Larita “Ms. W” Wright for a bushel of fun fall songs, stories, and fingerplay, including the House Without a Door and more. Recommended for preschoolers.
K-2nd Grade Programs
2021 Storytelling Celebration: Just Like the Olden Days
Before television and computers, people entertained themselves with stories. Imagine you and your family around a campfire while storyteller Heather Harlan shares tales and songs that have been told since the "olden days." Recommended for K-2nd grade.
2021 Storytelling Celebration: Three Billy Goats, An Angry Turkey, and a Big Old Ugly Thing
Join storytellers Papa and Jackie Wright for their take on three classic fairy tales—Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Turkey and the Mayor, and Boney Fingers. Jackie tells the stories while Papa keeps the beat. Recommended for K-2nd grade.
2021 Storytelling Celebration: It’s Time for Fun Fall Festivities
Join storyteller Larita “Ms. W” Wright for a heap of autumn-themed songs, stories, and activities, including The Little Old Lady That Wasn’t Afraid of Anything and more. Recommended for K-2nd grade.
Elementary Grades Programs
2021 KC Storytelling Celebration: Great Stories for Young Folks
Join storyteller Mitchell “Gran’daddy Junebug“ Capel for a motivational mixture of poetry and collective tales—some from his own life— exploring self-esteem. Recommended for K-5th grade.
2021 KC Storytelling Celebration: Tales of a True Friend, a Ghostly Visitor, and a Trip to the Graveyard
Storyteller Deb Swanegan tells about the time Brer Rabbit was a true friend, a tales of how a ghostly visitor saved the day, and how she might have snuck out one night to a graveyard. Recommended for 3rd-8th grade.
2021 Storytelling Celebration: Jackals, and Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!
Join storyteller Ric Vice for a selection of his favorite folktales—from Missouri to India—featuring many animal characters who speak to children with humor, action, and positive language. Recommended for 2nd-5th grade.
2021 Storytelling Celebration: Tales of a Clever Cook, a Fast Fox, and a Clingy Coffin
Join storytellers Papa and Jackie Wright for their take on three classic tales—Clever Gretel, Proud Fox, and Stop the Coffin! From silly tales to the “fun” kind of scary, Jackie tells the stories while Papa keeps the beat. Get ready for a fun time! Recommended for 3rd-5th grade.
2021 Storytelling Celebration: The Folksongs and Stories from the Ozark Hills
Get ready for a rip-roarin’ fun time with storytellers and musicians Mike and Nancee Micham and learn a thing or two about the culture of the Ozarks Hills at the same time. Recommended for 3rd-6th grades.
Middle School Programs
2021 Storytelling Celebration: Folk Tales and Folk Legends
Join storyteller Ric Vice for a selection of true tales that must be heard to be believed as well as folktales with a modern slant. Recommended for 6th-8th grades.
(also see programs above for more selections)
Adults Programs
2021 Storytelling Celebration: The Ozarks in Song and Story
Discover the culture of the Ozark region through folksongs and stories told by storytellers and musicians Mike and Nancee Micham. Learn about life in the Ozarks, the music of the early pioneers, and the meaning behind the music. For adults
2021 KC Storytelling Celebration: A Freedom Ride and a Haunted Journey
Join storyteller Deb Swanegan as she tells the story of a modern day pilgrimage to the Underground Railroad and the tale of a haunted trip on the Doodlebug train. For adults
Featured Storytellers
Carol Birch
Carol Birch
National Storytelling Network’s Circle of Excellence Award winner Carol Birch entertains audiences with infectious enthusiasm and storytelling style that is “refreshingly eloquent, dramatic but never overtly theatrical.” The folktales she brings to life simultaneously celebrate the universal and what is specific within a culture.
Mitch Capel “Gran'daddy Junebug”
Mitch Capel “Gran'daddy Junebug”
Mitch Capel “Gran’daddy Junebug” is a master storyteller, recording artist, published author and poet. He has been described as a “word magician,” a “national treasure,” “unexpectedly powerful” and a “transformer of lives.” With more than 35 hours of stories stored to memory, Mitch has been featured at numerous schools, libraries, museums and festivals since 1985.
Leeny del Seamonds
Leeny del Seamonds
With a face and voice that launched a thousand characters, Leeny Del Seamonds is an internationally acclaimed performer, award-winning recording artist, and professional voice actor. Her animated and uplifting tales and tunes reflect her love of people and desire to embrace life to its fullest. Wherever she is sharing stories, Leeny encourages listeners to rejoice in human and cultural diversity, inviting them to share in her Cuban-American sense of humor and joy of performing.
Eth-Noh-Tec Ensemble
Eth-Noh-Tec Ensemble
Eth-Noh-Tec, founded in 1981 by Nancy Wang and Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo, is interdisciplinary story theater of precision choreography, music, and lyrical word-weaving. Performing ancient Asian mythologies, folktales and urban legends along with contemporary Asian American inspiring stories, Eth-Noh-Tec creates an exciting new blend of storytelling and kinetic theater.
Heather Harlan
Heather Harlan
From performing at libraries to campfires, Heather combines traditional folk tales from around the world with her own whimsical style of original stories, songs, and guitar playing to create a performance with animation and warmth.
Mike and Nancee Micham
Mike and Nancee Micham
Mike and Nancee Micham have been entertaining audiences through stories and song for more than 25 years in the national and state parks, storytelling festivals and attractions across the Ozark region. The Michams love folk songs and tales, Irish traditional music and legends and to tell real life stories of living on their Ozark farmstead.
Deb Swanegan
Deb Swanegan
Combining her African American, Cherokee, Scots-Irish and Hebrew heritage, storyteller and artist Deb Swanegan weaves history, music, chants, folktales, and legends into her repertoire of traditional and nontraditional storytelling.
Ric Vice
Ric Vice
Storyteller and jazz musician, Ric Vice blends trickster and heroic tales that use laughter, sound effects, and funny characters to entertain both children and adults. Ric, also, tells original stories taken from the pages of his childhood exploits with a pair of cymbals, a chemistry set, and paste.
LaRita Wright
LaRita Wright
LaRita Wright is known to the thousands of children as the University City Public Library storyteller. Wright’s storytelling features stories, songs and rhymes of animals that are appropriate for young listeners. She enjoys seeing children using their imagination while listening to a story.
Papa and Jackie Wright
Papa and Jackie Wright
Combining folktales and fables with percussion instruments, Papa and Jackie Wright create a unique storytelling experience that brings out the emotion in every story and has audiences hanging on every word and beat.