Shoals Storytelling Festival Kicks Off with Community Events

FLORENCE-As part of the Storytelling Festival in Florence, AL this weekend, May 19,& 20, from 9am-9pm, storytellers will go out into the community to speak to schools, libraries, businesses and churches Thursday, May 18 as part of the Pre-Festival events. They will have an opportunity to listen to a great form of art-the art of storytelling.

This is a great opportunity to witness technology, combining the past with the present, in a most unusual way.

National storyteller, Tim Lowry, from South Carolina, will be partnering with the Helen Keller, Ivy Green Home,

in Tuscumbia, AL, and the Charlestown County School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing on Thursday afternoon.

Using iPhones and iPads, Tim Lowry and Dean Walters will conduct a tour of Helen’s birthplace. Partnering with the Institute of Deaf and Blind in Tuscumbia, Lillian Bonner will welcome students by sign language from Ivy Green to Charleston, SC. Their teacher, Dean Walters, who was born to deaf parents, is excited about this opportunity. According to Mr. Walters, “Many of these students would likely not have a chance to visit Helen Keller’s home from Charleston to Tuscumbia. It is exciting to see and learn first hand more about her life.”

The students see while they tour the home and outdoor surroundings while their teacher, Dean Walters, in Charleston, will serve as interpreter to the students. Tim Lowry will tell stories about Helen Keller with assistance from tour guide, Lynn Weaver. According to storyteller Tim Lowry, “It is amazing to think a young girl born in 1880, left blind and deaf after an illness, would learn to conquer her physical disabilities to become one of the world’s greatest inspirational speakers. She will come alive for students 137 years later through the use of the technology.

Serving as a role model for many deaf or hard of hearing students, the students in Charleston will have an opportunity to witness how Helen Keller’s life story began before their eyes.”

The City of Florence Department of Arts and Museums is located at 217 E. Tuscaloosa St. and is open, free of charge, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Call 256-760-6379 for more information.