Nationally acclaimed storyteller Kevin Kling is from Minnesota, where he lives on purpose. His belief is that when you freeze paradise, it lasts a little longer.

However, on Kling’s first visit to the Pike Piddlers Storytelling Festival, he realized that “paradise” is also a place where “people cook with flavor,” also know as grease.

Lawrence Bowden, president of the sponsoring Brundidge Historical Society,  said Kevin Kling quickly became a festival favorite.

“We are proud to have him back and look forward to hearing him once again,” Bowden said.

Kling has been called part funny guy, part poet and playwright and part wise man. Add to that one of the most interesting and versatile entertainers in the country and that would be Kevin  Kling in a nutshell.

His autobiographical tales are as fascinating as they are true to life. He tells of hopping freight trains, getting hit by lightning and growing up in icy cold Minnesota. His stories are sometimes hilarious and sometimes tender but always memorable.

Kling has not let a congenital birth defect —his left arm is shorter than his right and he has no wrist or thumb — nor the loss of the use of his right arm in a motorcycle accident, stand in his way of a life of adventure and wonder.

Fellow storyteller Sheila Kay Adams said when Kevin Kling settles on a stage, she settles into her seat.

“But, not for long,” Adams said. “With Kevin’s quick wit, wicked sense of humor and skilled delivery, I’m laughing so hard I can hardly stay in my seat. Then he tells a story with such sensitivity it grabs ahold of my very heart and I wipe away a tear or two. He has the gift and I’m so very thankful he does.” 

Kling will be joined at the Pike Piddlers Storytelling Festival this weekend by Adams, Donald Davis and Michael Reno Harrell.

Tickets are available for the 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. storytelling concerts at the Trojan Center Theater on Saturday by calling 684-5524 and at The Messenger.

The Friday night concert at the We Piddle Around Theater and the 2 p.m. concert at the Trojan Center Theater are sold out.

The Pike Piddlers Storytelling Festival is sponsored in part by the Alabama State Council on the Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.