Festival welcomes the world

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WHITEHORSE - Many tales will be told along the banks of the Yukon River in Whitehorse this summer during the 13th annual Yukon International Storytelling Festival to be held June 2 to 4 at Rotary Peace Park.

Story tellers - more than 50 of them - will come from every province in Canada and the United States. Sue Gleason, festival manger, said a teller from Northern Ireland will also be taking part, and organizers are looking at the possibility of bringing a teller over from Tel Aviv.

"The primary focus of the festival is to ensure the development, promotion and continuance of the ancient art and practice of storytelling," Gleason said.

The festival includes all forms of storytelling, including traditional telling, drumming, dance, theatre, puppetry and music.

The festival got its start in 1987 when three women - Angela Sidney, Anne Tayler and Louise-Profeit-LeBlanc - decided to start a local storytelling festival following Sidney's trip to Toronto to take part in a storytelling festival there. The first Yukon-based festival was held the following year, and has been held every year since.

Storytellers have come to the festival from all over the world, including Sweden, Zimbabwe, Greenland, Bolivia, Japan and China, Gleason said.

"We've had people from everywhere," Gleason said. "It's amazing, the storytelling network. It's really incredible because, you know, people have travelled everywhere, and they come across tellers who are really great, and then they pass the names on, and we call them and invite them."

Gleason said there are a number of features of the Yukon International Storytelling Festival that make it unique, including having three to five stages running simultaneously, and the ability to translate up to 52 languages.

"We put a strong emphasis on storytellers telling stories in their own language," Gleason said, adding that during past festivals, as many of 24 languages were being spoken on site.

A weekend pass for the storytelling festival will be $55 for a family of four, $27 for adults, $20 for seniors and students, and $15 for children. Day passes will be $38 for a family, $16 for adults, $13 for seniors and students, and $10 for children. Half-day passes are also available at $24 for a family, $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students, and $6 for children.

For more information about the Yukon International Storytelling Festival, visit the festival web site at www.yukonalaska.com/storytelling. Questions about the festival can also be e-mailed to festival organizers at yukonstory@yknet.yk.ca.