The art of

story-telling is passed down from generation to generation.

The stories

that are told keep a living history as they continually evolve. LaGrange

College will play host to a number of story tellers this weekend for the

sixth annual Azalea Storytelling Festival. They will tell a variety of

stories in a variety of styles, each one sure to have an effect on the

audience.

The festival,

a winner of the National Storytelling Membership Association Leadership

Award, will feature six nationally acclaimed story tellers along with

a bit of music and magic.

The story tellers

are Ed Stivender, who has recently performed at Carnegie Hall in new York

City and will travel to Austria following the festival in LaGrange; Mary

Hamilton, a featured story teller at the National Storytelling Festival

in Jonesborough, Tenn., who tells a variety of folk stories, fairy tales,

myths and legends; Michael parent, a juggler, story teller, musician and

mimic that is hailed as a "festival in himself"; Eric Litwin,

a performer at last year's festival that combines his stories with blues,

country and children's music; Cynthia Watts, who tells stories based in

fable and family history; and Betty Ann Wylie, a Georgia native who accents

her stories by dancing hands and eyes and the voice changes of an actress.

The festival

begins Friday, March 1 with registration at 5:30 p.m. A light supper and

story-telling sampler begin at 6 p.m. Preregistration is required.

Registration

begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 2. The first concert featuring Stivender,

Hamilton and Parent begins at 10 a.m. There will be a lunch break from

noon to 2 p.m. There will be close-up sessions with the featured tellers

at 2 p.m. and the second concert featuring Watts, Litwin and Wylie begins

at 3:30 p.m. The evening concert begins at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday begins

with coffee, donuts and entertainment by the dulcimer trouper at 9 a.m.

A session of sacred story-telling and music begins at 9:30 a.m. followed

Tickets for

the event, which takes place at LaGrange College's Callaway Auditorium,

are $30 for the full festival, $15 for students, $15 for Friday night,

$7.50 for students; $20 for all day Saturday, $10 for students; $5 for

Saturday morning or afternoon, $2.50 for students, and $10 for the Saturday

evening concert, $5 for students. Sunday morning sessions are free. Phone

706-880-8246.

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