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The Art of Oral Storytelling is Alive in Chester

Celebrating the tradition of oral storytelling, entertainment, and local lore, the United Church of Chester will host Tellabration, a mammoth storytelling event, on Saturday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. The event will feature renowned shoreline based storyteller Jennifer Munro, whose repertoire includes personal stories, along with fairy and folktales, myths, and legends.

United Church of Chester Reverend Alan Froggatt said Munro was asked to return after last year’s performance, which he compared to Garrison Keillor’s telling of the Lake Wobegon stories.

“Jennifer gives a very engaging and entertaining concert, which includes laughter, pathos, and a large range of human emotion,” Froggatt said. “Her opening lines grab the listeners and pull them in immediately and her stories have a way of making you smile, if not on your lips then in your heart.”

Last year was the first time the event was held at the church and, according to Froggatt, it was hugely successful.

“This is a fun evening for people to come and enjoy a different kind of entertainment. I encourage everyone to come support the church and have a good time,” said Froggatt.

This event is a fundraiser for the church and proceeds are used for its many and varied outreach programs.

Coinciding with the national Tellabration phenomenon, Chester’s event is just one of the dozens of storytelling happenings all over the world. The purpose of this international event is to introduce adults, as well as children, to the pleasures of the oral art of storytelling. Offered by The Connecticut Storytelling Center based at Connecticut College in New London, this event is geared toward adults and children 12 and older.

Tickets are $10 per person; all proceeds go to the United Church of Chester and the The Connecticut Storytelling Center, both non-profits. For more information, call 860-526-2697.

Tickets are on sale at the following businesses: Emmy’s on Main in Essex, Celebrations in Deep River, and Chester’s Finders Marketplace in Chester, The Bowerbird in Old Lyme, and the church office.

A full listing of Tellabration sites in Connecticut can be found at www.connstorycenter.org/tellabration.htm or by calling The Connecticut Storytelling Center at 860-439-2764.