Donald Davis tells stories at the Athens, AL Storytelling banquet.

The Athens, AL Storytelling Festival welcomed nearly 4,500 school-age spectators through its doors last week.

“Our student tellers did a great job, and what’s neat is the students in the audience were so proud of the ones that stood up there,” said Leah Oakley. “They cheered when each student was announced, and they cheered when they finished. They almost gave them a standing ovation.”

One student lost her place in the story and “the students started chanting ‘you can do it,’ ‘you can do it,’ said Oakley. “It still gives chills. That was the coolest part of the week.”

The Storytelling Festival was a unique experience for student tellers and audience members alike.

“I think they (the tellers) gained confidence. It’s hard to stand up in front of everybody. The professional tellers were very impressed with our students stories,” said Oakley. “Some were made up, some more personal experiences, some were ghost stories; they did an awesome job.”

She went on to say, “They got the satisfaction of ‘hey, I can write a story, and then I can tell it.’”

The festival was a chance for many students to learn how to be an audience member for the first time.

“It was really fun to watch them because they really got it. Our professional tellers did a great job at engaging our students,” said Oakley. “They called a couple of them on stage to kind of help out with a story.”

“They settled down; they listened. You could have heard a pin drop, they were really into it,” said Oakley. “They did a great job.”

The schools are appreciative of the opportunity to participate in the festival.

“The Storytelling Festival is a wonderful opportunity to hear the best storytellers in the country, and we are so appreciative of our legislators for making this available to our students at no cost,” said Beth Patton, superintendent of Athens City Schools. “Storytelling is truly an art, and we couldn’t be more proud of our Golden Eagles selected to take the stage and share in front of their peers and the community.”