National award winning storyteller Kim Weitkamp paid a second visit to Black Fox Elementary School where she recorded one of two CDs in Cleveland, Tenn., two years ago. Grownups got a preview of one CD on Sunday night. The Black Fox kids got their turn Monday.
Staff Photo by Randall Higgins/Chattanooga Times Free PressCLEVELAND, Tenn. - Kim Weitkamp came here two years ago as the featured storyteller for the Ocoee Story Fest, and part of that visit involved performing at schools.
She and the students at Black Fox Elementary School became really connected, so Weitkamp recorded two compact discs here, one with those children.
Her new kids' CD, "Pickle in the Middle Blues," features musicians Paul and Ryan Little and was recorded at Oakwood Media Services in Ooltewah.
On Sunday, the Virginia storyteller returned to Cleveland to debut the CDs. A small group of grownups went to a Sunday evening performance at Nola Cafe, the New Orleans-style restaurant in town. And, on Monday, Weitkamp was back at Black Fox.
"They just love her," Principal Kim Fisher said of the children's reactions to Weitkamp.
On stage she sang a song, with some enthusiastic help from the kids on the refrain: "Work, then play, gets the job done." It's her updated version of the folk tale about the ant and the grasshopper.
Three children were called up front to dance.
"Don't hurt yourself," Weitkamp reminded them when backflips got into the routines.
Two teachers were drafted by the kids to dance, too. They were much more cautious.
Fisher likes how Weitkamp can weave cautions about treating others fairly into her stories about being "the pickle in the middle," or the child with both older and younger siblings.
Weitkamp performs across the country, and not just for kids. She is the founder of the Wrinkles Project to encourage "seasoned citizens" to share their treasuries of stories with a younger generation.