Attention School Media Specialists, Teachers, Youth Leaders, and Parents. Hillsborough County is gearing up for its Thirty-Second Annual Storytelling Festival!

The culminating festival will be held April 21st, 2012, from 9 am—4 pm. at its traditional Tampa home, Hillsborough High School. Enjoy the castle-like atmosphere and architecture of this beautiful, historic high school. Hillsborough High is located at 5000 N Central Ave. in Tampa. (See a Map.) The festival is FREE and open to the public.

In addition to this year's Featured Storyteller Elizabeth Ellis, the festival also presents hundreds of school-aged Festival Quality Storytellers, regional storytellers of all ages, balladeers, puppets, storybook characters, and much much more!

Storyteller Tamara Green, and her assistant Marlene Sacarello, will conduct continuous workshops for youth, K through 12, that desire to develop storytelling skills. Workshops will conclude with a judging for the 32^nd Storytelling Festival. All workshops are Free.

These workshops are scheduled at the Town & Country Regional Public Library, 7606 Paula Drive, from 4:30 – 5:30 PM.

• Thurs. / Feb. 2: Workshop on Storytelling
• Thurs. / Feb. 9: Workshop on Storytelling
• Thurs. /Feb. 16: Workshop on Storytelling
• Thurs. / Feb. 23: Workshop on Storytelling
• Thurs. / Mar. 1: Workshop on Storytelling
• Thurs. / Mar. 8: Conclusion to Workshops/ Judging for the 32^nd Storytelling Festival

Storytelling Festival Committee members, Marlene Sacarello and Stephanie Losurdo will conduct continuous storytelling workshops for youth, K through 12 at the Upper Tampa Bay Public Library, 11211 Countryway Boulevard from 4:00 – 5:15 PM.

• Mon. / Feb. 6: Opening Celebration/ Demonstration by Ambassador Storytellers
• Mon. / Feb. 13: Workshop on Storytelling
• Mon. / Feb. 20: Workshop on Storytelling
• Mon. / Feb. 27: Workshop on Storytelling
• Mon. / Mar. 5: Conclusion to Workshops/ Judging for the 32^nd Storytelling Festival

Please contact Marlene Sacarello at 813-310-7104 for more information on all workshops. The 32^nd annual Storytelling Festival will be held on Saturday, April 21, 2012 at Hillsborough High School. The Festival is a free family event sponsored by the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System, The City of Tampa Parks and Recreation Department, Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation, and Conservation Department, Hillsborough County Schools and the Arts Council of Hillsborough County.

Elizabeth Ellis is a versatile and riveting teller of Appalachian and Texas tales and stories of heroic American women, though her personal stories are arguably her best.

She has captivated over 300,000 children and countless adults at schools, universities and festivals in her 30 year career as a storyteller. She was selected as a “Listener’s Choice” at the 30th Anniversary National Storytelling Festival and a Storyteller-In-Residence at the International Storytelling Center.

She is a recipient of the Circle of Excellence Award from the National Storytelling Association.

www.elizabethellis.com