Sylvia Idom, seated, and Judy Baker are among the Cleveland Storytellers Guild members planning the Blue Tarp Special for September 8 during the Five Points Market.FROM THE STORYTELLERS GUILD
Sept. 8 — Blue Tarp Special. 5 p.m. First Street Square. Bring a lawn chair.Sept. 18 — Stories On Sunday. 2 p.m. Cleveland/Bradley Public Library.Oct. 31 — 4-8 p.m. Tall Betsy storytelling. Family friendly ghost stories. Museum Center at Five Points.Nov. 10 — Tellabration. 7 p.m. Storytelling as part of a worldwide celebration. Cleveland/Bradley Public Library.Nov. 13 — More Tellabration with local tellers. 2 p.m. Cleveland/Bradley Public Library.Source: Cleveland Storytellers Guild
CLEVELAND, Tenn. — The Blue Tarp Special will be here in two weeks.
It’s a combination of traditional music and storytelling for the community to come and hear, and they can donate to the recovery of neighbors victimized by the April 27 tornadoes and storms.
It will take place during the Sept. 8 Five Points Market at First Street Square downtown.
“At our guild meeting we realized that everyone has a storm story,” said Judy Baker from the Cleveland Story-tellers Guild. “All of us in this community know someone who helped remove debris, donated material or donated monetary help. We wanted to do more, so that’s how the Blue Tarp Special came about.”
Money raised from the event will be administered by United Way of Bradley County for use by storm victims.
The name comes from all the blue tarps spread over rooftops around the area to protect home interiors after the storms, said Sylvia Idom from the guild.
“Stories are very healing,” Baker said. “They are entertaining but healing, too.”
The Blue Tarp Special will be on the light side. There may be some storm stories, but many will be tall tales and such.
“We just want to provide a break for everybody,” Baker said.
The music will be traditional folk and bluegrass by a variety of bands.
The Blue Tarp Special will take place in the park as the market, sponsored by MainStreet Cleveland, is in progress around it. The market starts at 4 p.m. each Thursday during the growing season. The Blue Tarp Special will start at 5 p.m.
There will be a listening table, too, Idom said. People can come and talk about their own experiences in the deadly storms. Those sessions are not for recorded history or material for future tales, she said.
“That kind of thing has already been done,” she said. “Some people are OK with that, but some people are not OK with that.”
It’s just an opportunity to talk, she said.
Contact Randall Higgins at rhiggins@timesfreepress.com or 423-314-1029.