Tampa Storytelling Festival: Participant Information

ATTENTION:	School Media Specialists, Teachers, Youth Leaders, and Parents -- Hillsborough County is gearing up for its Twenty-Sixth Annual Storytelling Festival!
WHEN:	Culminating Festival Saturday, April 14th, 2007 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
WHERE:	Middleton High School 4801 22nd Street (Between Hillsborough Avenue & Martin Luther King Boulevard) Tampa, FL SEE UPCOMING FESTIVAL PAGE FOR DIRECTIONS
FEATURING:	David Novak Hundreds of school-aged Festival Quality Storytellers Community storytellers of all ages Balladeers Puppets Storybook costumed characters *...and much, much more
COST:	FREE!
OBJECTIVES:	To renew and promote the art of storytelling for children and adults To introduce some of the best stories in the oral tradition to children and adults To develop self-confidence and public speaking skills in children To involve special populations, such as the elderly, the handicapped, the Spanish speaking and African-American Communities in the renewal of this art To better prepare children for participation in the art by providing in-service training in the art of storytelling for the recreation leaders, librarians and teachers of these children To bring to the Tampa Area a festival introducing folk tradition as presented through the telling and hearing of good stories; using the local talent of Hillsborough County’s children and adults, as well as some of the finest storytelling artists in the nation
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE:	The Festival is open to all; students Kindergarten through 12th Grade are invited to learn stories and be evaluated. Those evaluated to be Festival Quality Storytellers will be invited to tell at the April 8th Festival.
*HOW YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS CAN PARTICIPATE*
1. INSTRUCTION	Instructors will teach storytelling to children. For help, consult our manual Once Upon a Story, which has been placed in all public and private school media centers in the county or visit the online manual.
2. REGISTRATION	Each storyteller will need a registration card. The registration cards should be filled out by their instructors so that spelling and information is accurate, legible and complete. PLEASE PRINT ALL INFORMATION.
3. EVALUATION SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY FEBRUARY 9, 2007	Storytellers will be evaluated at schools or recreation centers. After the children have learned their stories, arrange for a storytelling event at which they will be evaluated. You can plan to make this a small mini- festival within your own school or facility. EVALUATORS: Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System will provide children’s librarians to help with the evaluating. Contact your closest library for this service. Other evaluators might be your school’s media specialist, teachers or PTA Members. EVALUATORS WILL NEED: --EVALUATION FORM for each storyteller. --CRITERIA FOR STORYTELLING --REGISTRATION CARD for each storyteller. Mark the corner box on the registration card to indicate those children who have met the storytelling criteria and have been judged to be a Festival Quality Storyteller. --CERTIFICATES should be awarded to all participants. --STOP WATCH OR WATCH WITH SECOND HAND - All stories must be timed accurately and the time entered on registration card (example: 4 min. 32 sec.). Accuracy is critical for scheduling purposes at the culminating event. --SUGGESTIONS FOR A EVALUATORS PANEL
4. REGISTRATION CARDS	MUST BE SENT TO THE STORYTELLING COMMITTEE ON OR BEFORE FEBRUARY 16, 2007 For statistical purposes, please send in registration cards for ALL participating storytellers. Those marked Festival Quality will receive invitations to be featured storytellers at the culminating festival on Saturday, April 14, 2007. All children and their family and friends are invited to attend this free festival. SEND TO: Priscilla Lakus Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library 900 North Ashley Drive Tampa, Florida 33602 Phone: (813) 273-3648 DATE: On or before February 16, 2007
5. NOTIFICATION	--Parents will receive a letter notifying them of their child’s selection as a Festival Quality Storyteller. --Parents will return to the participating school or recreation center a confirmation slip inclusion which will confirm or decline their child’s invitation to be a featured storyteller at the culminating festival. (Instructors should check to make sure that all Festival Quality Storytellers have received and returned their confirmation slips.) ALL confirmation slips must be returned to Priscilla Lakus on or before March 12, 2007. You will not receive additional confirmation; the time slot you requested to tell at the Festival (morning or afternoon session) is when you will be scheduled. See the Festival schedule at this site to find out what other events are taking place during the day, and plan to spend some time enjoying storytellers of all ages!
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION	Contact: Priscilla Lakus Coordinator of Youth Services Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library Phone number: (813) 273-3648 Jody Wren Creative Arts Supervisor Tampa Parks and Recreation Phone number: (813) 931-2106 or send us an e-mail: info@tampastory.org