The We Piddle Around Theater in downtown Brundidge was packed for the Chili Country Christmas storytelling event Thursday and Friday nights. But, when the name Donald Davis appears on the marquee, a packed house is the norm.

Davis, a nationally acclaimed storyteller from North Carolina, is known as the Dean of Storytelling. Davis lived up to his billing at the Chili Country Christmas for those who are regular followers and for those who were hearing him for the first time.

Joe and Peggy Faulk of Troy came with friends Mack and Mary Gibson in tow.

The Faulks have heard Davis in concert several times and wanted to share their love of and appreciation for the art of storytelling with the Gibsons.

“We knew that Mack and Mary would appreciate Donald Davis as much as we do,” Peggy Faulk said. “It’s amazing how he can describe an experience so vividly that you can actually see it unfold. He paints a picture but he does it with words. You can see things on television or in the movies but there’s nothing like having a picture painted with words.”

Faulk said that Davis can make listeners laugh and, almost in the same instance, bring tears to their eyes.

“We are bombarded by the images on television and movies but it’s stories and the pictures they paint that stay with you,” she said. “Donald Davis’ stories are funny and poignant. You remember the funny things but it’s the poignant stories that you hold on to always.”

On the way back to Troy, the Gibsons admitted to be converts to the art of storytelling and as huge fans of Donald Davis.

“It was a delight to be in the We Piddle Around Theater once again and enjoy a great, great storyteller,” Gibson said and added laughing that he “unfortunately” related to the stories Davis told.

“It was amazing how he could go from something so funny to something so serious so quickly. Time just flew. Joe and Peggy said that we were going to enjoy Donald Davis and we did. It was a joy to be there. Everything was wonderful – the stories, the music, the food.

“Being in the Piddle Around Theater and getting the deep sense of history that you feel in the preserved historical spaces was unreal. People need to understand how important preservation is. And, the stories?

“Donald Davis? Oh, my goodness, I was clinging to his every word. What a talent. I can’t wait to hear him again.”

Bennie Jinright of Troy said that she could sit and listen to Donald Davis all night.

“He is the best storyteller I have ever heard,” Jinright said. “He’s amazing. I laughed until I cried and then I cried. What he said about a gift that you asked for is just something you asked for, but a surprise is something special, something meaningful, that brought tears to my eyes. Then, the story he told about his parents getting him and his brother the scooters they wanted so much for Christmas …and that Santa Claus comes once a year but your parents are there for you every day … that made me cry. Donald Davis is the best there is.”

Davis will be back in town the last week in January for the Brundidge Historical Society’s Pike Piddlers Storytelling Festival along with Festival favorites, Barbara McBride-Smith, Bil Lepp and Dolores Hydock.

For more information, call studio 116 at 334-735-3125.