Tampa-Hillsborough County Storytelling Festival - Showcasing Storytelling for Diverse Audiences

Showcasing Storytelling for Diverse Audiences

A storyteller who tells using American Sign Language has been added to the roster of professional tellers at the culminating Festival. This service to the hearing impaired community also raises awareness of storytelling's many faces.Bilingual Spanish storytelling has been an integral part of the Festival for many years. In 1998 the Festival opened a multilingual storytelling area. Stories in Spanish and English, French and English, African languages and English, American Sign Language and English were featured in this area.

In the spring the City of Tampa Parks & Recreation Department sponsors a weekly Friday night concert. The national teller is highlighted during the concert on the Friday night before the Festival. Thus the Festival is promoted in a very active and entertaining way to music concert-goers who may not hear of the Festival otherwise.