Appalachian storyteller and humorist Suzi Whaples shares her imaginative art and heritage with students at Black Fox Elementary in Cleveland, Tenn. Whaples is the featured performer at the Cleveland Storytelling Guild’s 20th annual Ocoee Story Fest, which will be held Friday evening at the Museum Center at Five Points. Black Fox Elementary is the inaugural stop of Whaples’ six-school tour, funded through the Allied Arts Council of the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce.CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Appalachian storyteller and humorist Suzi Whaples is making the rounds to several Bradley County schools in the days leading up to her performance Friday at the 20th annual Ocoee Story Fest at the Museum Center at Five Points.
On Tuesday, the festival’s featured artist launched the tour at Black Fox Elementary, where she shared her imagination, heritage and rapport with 80 students in the school’s gym.
“The art of storytelling is lost,” Whaples said before her performance. “I’m trying to take them back to a kinder, softer time.”
IF YOU GO
What: 20th Annual Ocoee Story FestWhen: Friday at 7 p.m.Where: Museum Center at Five Points, 200 Inman St. E, Cleveland, TN 37311Admission: $5 per ticket; maximum $15 for a familyFOR MORE INFORMATION For more information, contact Judy Baker at 423-479-7887 or tellone@bellsouth.net.The Cleveland Storytelling Guild website: www.tennesseetellers.orgSuzi Whaples’ website: www.suziwhaples.com
Students broke out in a mixture of saddened responses and belly-laughs as Whaples wove tales rooted in the mountain families of West Virginia, her home.
Stories of hardship, wisdom and faith came to life as she channeled the voices, expressions and manners of people and times of a bygone age, taking inspiration from her own family.
“Things I would have never known about my heritage were learned at the knee of my grandmother,” Whaples said. “My stories are about growing up in the mountains and mostly passed down from family members.”
Using her voice and the occasional prop, her stories called for the students to imagine a time and place where children walked to wooden school houses and people saved scraps of clothing and buttons to make patchwork coats and other items.
She demonstrated how learning to operate a common umbrella — a “newfangled umbrelly,” to be exact — was a profound and humorous experience for an Appalachian grandmother from the early 20th century.
A tale of a poor schoolgirl’s patchwork coat showed the students how the coat’s patches told stories in their own rights, revealing the memories, dreams and hopes of a family struggling to survive with dignity after losing their father in a mining accident.
Judy Baker, chairwoman of special events for the Cleveland Storytelling Guild, said the week will be exciting.
“We love going into the schools because it opens up whole new worlds for the kids,” she said. “They can see how the written word and spoken word have a relationship.”
Baker praised the financial assistance of the Allied Arts Council of the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce.
Without the support of the Allied Arts Council, the Cleveland Storytelling Guild could not bring these events to the local schools, she said. Funds are raised through the Chair-ees Jubilee event held each April, she said.
Other elementary schools on the itinerary include Arnold, Mayfield, Valley View, Blythe Bower and Michigan Avenue, Baker said.
Paul Leach is based inCleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.