October 5th Schedule
Join us for a day full of storytelling events and activities!
Don't miss the opportunity to mark the beginning of a new era of literary community in Appalachian Ohio!
Lineups listed in each section below!
Blue Farmhouse Music's Youth Showcase of Folk Music
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Gather in the Grand Lobby and listen to a local musician group perform traditional Appalachian folk music using traditional instruments.
Liar's Contest
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Join us for a story slam! Emceed by Donald Dudding and opened with poetry from Ohio's Poet Laureate, Kari Gunter-Seymour, it's sure to be a blast. Come tell your biggest lie on stage, or just sit back and enjoy the talent of Appalachian storytellers. Plus, the crowd gets to vote on the winner!
SPONSORED BY STUART'S OPERA HOUSE
Keynote Address: Using Photography to Tell Authentic Appalachian Stories with Roger May
7:30 PM - 8:15 PM
Following the Liar's Contest, join us in the theater for a talk with Roger May, Appalachian American photographer and writer based in Alum Creek, West Virginia. His work explores the complicated history of place, faith, and identity in the coal fields. In 2014, he founded the crowdsourced Looking at Appalachia project.
SPONSORED BY ATHENS COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES
Live Music on the Square with Nolan Collins
8:15PM - 11PM
End the night on the Square with your dancing shoes! A country singer and songwriter from Gallipolis, Ohio, Nolan's music derives from the many years of country music as well as finding inspiration across genres. The main driving force behind his music is the desire to make folks dance while also causing them to ask themselves questions.
SPONSORED BY THE MINE TAVERN
October 6th Schedule
Join us as we celebrate the amazing storytellers featured in this inaugural festival with a brunch for the winners of this year's storytelling awards!
Keynote Address: Using Film to Tell Authentic Appalachian Stories with Elaine McMillion Sheldon
during awards brunch
Join us at brunch for a talk by Elaine McMillion Sheldon, an Academy Award-nominated, Peabody-winning, and two-time Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker. Sheldon premiered her latest feature-length documentary KING COAL at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The New York Times named it a Critics’ Pick, Esquire and Marie Claire named it one of the best documentaries of the year. KING COAL screened at over 40 festivals, 50 theaters and had its national broadcast premiere as the season opener for PBS’ POV, America’s longest running non-fiction series. Sheldon is also the director of two Netflix Original Documentaries - HEROIN(E) and RECOVERY BOYS - that explore America's opioid crisis. She has been named a Creative Capital Awardee, Guggenheim Fellow, a USA Fellow by United States Artists, and one of the "25 New Faces of Independent Film,” by Filmmaker Magazine. She has been nominated for six Emmy awards, three Peabody awards, and a Livingston Award. In 2024, Sheldon was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
SPONSORED BY
THE FRIENDS OF ATHENS COUNTY LIBRARIES
