THE OLD NORTH STATE STORYTELLING FESTIVAL @ THE CARY THEATER 

122 East Chatham Street, Cary, NC 

Friday and Saturday 

November 1 -2, 2024

• Join us for our two-day Festival to experience the power of live storytelling.

• Acclaimed storytellers will present hours of stories and music to entertain and warm your heart.

• Three Showcase performances over Friday and Saturday

• ALL tellers perform DIFFERENT stories for EACH Showcase

• SHOWCASE #1 - Friday, 11/1, 7 to 9pm

• SHOWCASE #2 - Saturday, 11/2, 1:30 to 3:30pm

• SHOWCASE #3 - Saturday, 11/2, 7 to 9pm

• NOTE: Private OUTREACH Showcase for our Special Needs community Saturday Morning, 11/2 made possible by our generous sponsors, donors, and the Specialized Recreation & Inclusion Services - Town of Cary

• All performances are family-friendly

• Presented by The Town of Cary and the North Carolina Storytelling Guild

  FEATURING

  • Bil Lepp is a storyteller, author, recording artist, and humorist who has been traveling the country for over twenty years sharing his funny stories. He is a five-time winner of the West Virginia State Liars' Contest. He performs at storytelling festivals around the nation and is a regular performer at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. Bil has published 25 collections of stories in books and albums. He hosts Man vs. History, a History Channel series that explores the facts behind iconic events and personalities in American history.

  • Megan Wells has received six national and regional awards for her work as a Storyteller, Director, Actress, and Playwright. She's been featured at the National Festival in Jonesborough five times and in many prestigious national and regional festivals. She is a sought-after story coach who lifts others into their authentic story power. Megan is also a prolific Historical Portrayalist, with over 20 famous women in her repertoire of solo programs. 

  • From New York’s subway to stages worldwide, LIPBONE REDDING’s stories and music stretch like a never-ending string. He is a one-man orchestra turning stories into songs that far exceed the boundaries of Americana into jazz, blues, tango, and more. From his broad and diverse travels and life experience, Lipbone creates stories and music you will never forget. 

  • Linda Gorham tells stories! For over thirty years, she has engaged international audiences of all ages with interactive global folktales, distinctive Greek myths, and notably twisted fairy tales. Each performance is infused with Linda’s unconventional humor and her signature ‘sophisticated attitude’. Linda has performed with the North Carolina Symphony, at the National Storytelling Festival, at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, and at many other adult storytelling festivals around the country.

  • Sam Pearsall is a retired ecologist and conservation scientist living in Raleigh, NC. Sam’s stories are true tales and tall tales based on personal experiences. He tells stories at any venue that will advance the cause of getting stories out to people and getting people out for stories. He has triumphed twice and been featured three times at the prestigious Monti Story Slam in Durham, NC. He was also recognized as a New Voice and Featured Teller at the Stone Soup Storytelling Festival in South Carolina. He is the President of the North Carolina Storytelling Guild. Sam believes that with any good story, the further in you go, the bigger it gets.

  • Our EMCEE Peg Helminski, M.Ed, is a storyteller, author, audiobook narrator, coach, award-winning public speaker, and Distinguished Toastmaster. She tells timeless tales of family life and inspiration drawn from personal experience as well as retellings of traditional tales—many with a modern twist.