Top tellers back for Pike Piddlers Storytelling Festival

Published 3:00 am Saturday, January 13, 2018

Everybody’s got a tale but no better tales will be told than those told at the 2018 Pike Piddlers Storytelling Festival on January 26 and 27 in Pike County, Alabama.

The sponsoring Brundidge Historical Society will bring four nationally and internationally acclaimed storytellers to the We Piddle Around Theater in Brundidge and the Trojan Center Theater on the campus of Troy University.

Donald Davis, Josh Goforth, Tim Lowry and Elizabeth Ellis will headline this year’s festival.

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Davis, the Dean of Storytelling, will return to the Pike Piddlers Storytelling Festival for the 12th time by popular demand.

Donald Davis and storytelling are synonymous, said Lawrence Bowden, BHS president.

“He’s like a fine wine; he gets better with age. Audiences can relate to his stories because they may be similar to something that happened to you or they might remind you of someone in your life. He can make you laugh until you cry or put a lump in your throat.” 

Josh Goforth will be back at the festival for the third year and also by popular demand.

Goforth, a Grammy nominee, has appeared at the Grand Ole Opry and at Carnegie Hall and at storytelling and music festivals throughout the nation and abroad.

“Josh Goforth is a tremendous storyteller and one of the most amazing fiddle and banjo players you’ll ever see,” said Mernette Bray a member of the storytelling committee. “We are fortunate to have him back because he is in great demand.”

Tim Lowry first appeared as a new voice at the National Storytelling Festival and quickly became a voice that everyone wants to hear.

“In his seersucker suit, he’s a Southern gentleman but he can quickly change his tone to that of fire and brimstone preacher or the teller of tales in the Gullah language of the people of his native South Carolina,” Bray said.

Texan Elizabeth Ellis doesn’t mince words. Her stories are filled with hilarious and heart-felt honesty.

“Elizabeth can tickle your funny bone and tug at your heart,” Bray said. “She has a wonderfully soft voice that pulls you into her stories and holds you there.”

All tellers for the 2018 Pike Piddlers Storytelling Festival appear at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee.

“You don’t get invited to Jonesborough unless you are among the best,” Bowden said. “Our tellers are not just among the best, they are the best.”

The Pike Piddlers Storytelling Festival will open to a sold-out audience at the We Piddle Around Theater on Friday night, January 26.

The festival will continue on Saturday, January 27 with three storytelling concerts at 10 a.m. ($10), 2 p.m. ($15) and 6:30 p.m. ($10) at the Trojan Center Theater on the campus of Troy University. Pre-show music will be by The Benton Brothers & Company, The Lighthouse String Ensemble and The Hendersons. The music will begin 30 minutes prior to the storytelling concerts.

Tickets are available by calling 334-344-9427 or 670-6302 or 685-5524.

Tickets are also available at The Messenger on South Brundidge Street in Troy.