The Ottawa Storytelling Festival

November 18-21 at Saint Brigid’s Centre and the Mayfair Theatre

For the 21st Ottawa Storytelling Festival we are bringing some of the best performers from Canada, the United States and Europe to present four days of dynamic storytelling. We’ll kick off the Festival with a performance at the atmospheric Mayfair Theatre on the 18th, followed by a film screening. Over the next three days we will offer workshops and other activities at Saint Brigid’s Centre on the Byward Market, followed by feature concerts in the evening and late-night performances. From personal tales of family, home, and identity to the historic drama of the youngest inmate ever sentenced to Alcatraz, from a steampunk reimagining of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein to a celebration of ballads and tales from the shores of Newfoundland, the Festival will truly offer something for everyone.

Featured performers include:

Anita Best has spent a lifetime exploring and celebrating the rural Newfoundland lifestyle and culture. In the process she has become one of the province's most prominent traditional singers. Born on Merasheen Island in Placentia Bay, Best has worked as an educator, archivist, folklorist, broadcaster, storyteller and singer.

Ivan Coyote was born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. An award-winning author of four collections of short stories, one novel, two CD’s, four short films and a renowned performer, Ivan’s first love is live storytelling, and over the last thirteen years she has become an audience favourite at music, poetry, spoken word and writer’s festivals from Anchorage to Amsterdam.

Ben Haggarty has been one of the prime movers of the revival of the art of professional storytelling in Britain. He has featured as guest storyteller in over 45 International Storytelling festivals in 23 countries. Since 2001 he has been the official storyteller for Yo Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble project, devising family concerts combining stories and music for performances to audiences of up to 10,000 people.

Tim Tingle is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. His great-great grandfather, John Carnes, walked the Trail of Tears in 1835, and memories of this family epic fuel his writing and telling. As a storyteller, he delivers lively historical and traditional stories, accompanying himself on the Native American flute and singing Choctaw songs to the rhythms of a whaleskin drum.