StoryFest 2026
Daytime Performances
11:15 a.m. - 12:10 p.m. - Black Box Theater
Sue Searing
“The Four Friends: An Ancient Fable from India”
Sue Searing relishes sharing traditional folk and fairy tales, stories drawn from history and family lore, and original tales inspired by her own experiences. She’s been invited to perform at theaters, fairgrounds, churches, breweries, libraries, coffeehouses, conferences, and online. She’s won story slams in the Twin Cities and took first place in the Great American Story Contest in Park Rapids, MN. “Prizes are nice,” Sue admits, but “the unique connection with live audiences of all ages” is what fires her passion for storytelling. Please visit suesearing.com to learn more about Sue and hear more of her stories.
Janay Green
“Anansi and the Pot of Wisdom”
Info coming soon!
Larry Johnson
“Bloomington Standing Tall Before the Mall”
Larry grew up in the country, a mile from the farm where the Mall of America is now. His baseball team won the Bloomington Championship at Legion Field, the same year a chicken from nearby Harris Feeds on Lyndale negotiated THE GREAT PUMPKIN PEACE TREATY. This was broadcast by gophers over Radio H-O-S-E, thru the plumbing system of neighborhood homes. These are true stories, with only the facts exaggerated.
Christopher Nelson
“Baseball is for Real Men and Women”
I have been attending open mics, classes at American School of Storytelling for awhile now. I’m grateful to get the chance at StoryFest!
1:15 p.m. - 2:10 p.m. - Black Box Theater
Julie Gustafson
“Room for Improv-ment”
Julie is a Storyteller from Bloomington, Minnesota who believes the most powerful stories are the honest ones. Drawing directly from her own life, she shares personal experiences with candor, humor, and vulnerability in an effort to unite others through shared emotion and understanding. Her work is rooted in the idea that when one person tells the truth about their life, it gives others permission to see themselves in it — and feel a little less alone.
Kate Button
“Into the Storm”
Kate Button is a seasoned performer in improv, storytelling, and standup. She has led an adventurous life, having visited every continent but Antarctica. She has adopted 5 children from Liberia, China and the USA. She will be sharing a story of one of those adventures.
Leif Wallin
“I’m A Survivor”
Leif lives up north on a lake near Bemidji, MN. He has adopted the "Fish Fear Me" phrase. Sadly, Fish Avoid Me is more appropriate. As he waits for fish to bite, he hangs out with Paul Bunyan (everything in Bemidji is tied to Paul) and sharpens his story telling skills.
Margaret Meyers
“Sardines”
Storyteller Margaret Meyers captivates audiences with a lively mix of stories with depth and humor. A former college philosophy teacher, poet, and lifelong learner, she brings her sense of wonder into her storytelling. She tells traditional stories, personal stories, and is part of a California epic storytelling troupe. As a mother and grandmother, Margaret is deeply devoted to nurturing the resilience of young people. “Growing up is complicated,” she says. “Stories help.”
Katie Knutson
Info coming soon!
2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. - Council Chambers
Vickijoan Keck
“The Quarreling Colors”
Vickijoan Keck (AKA “The Rainbow Lady”) is a storyteller, actress and poet who especially enjoys telling folktales and whimsical rhymes. She enjoys telling personal stories as well as putting a new twist on an old tale. She has been involved in storytelling since the mid 1990’s, telling her stories at places like the MIA and Flint Hills children’s festival, libraries, coffee shops, as well as nature centers. She loves rainbows, and found a folktale that she reworked into verse form.
Elaine Wynne
“My Dad Knew How to Call a Bluff”
Elaine is a storyteller/therapist who started Veteran Resilience Project. She grew up on a farm north of Bemidji, close to Red Lake. Farm organizer parents, country barn dances and the nearby pow wows were part of that childhood. Elaine lived a short time in Alaska twice, as a child, and again as a young adult. This story shows her father standing up to racism in housing rental in Alaska.
Dorothy Cleveland
“Meeting the Red Baron”
Dorothy has been telling publicly for 31 years in a variety of venues. She tells folktales and personal stories as well as fictional stories. "Meeting the Red Baron" is a personal tale of flying in an old bi-plane from the Red Baron pizza company and the enchanting pilot.
Laura Packer
Info coming soon!
J. Emily Peabody
“Solstice Magic”
J Emily Peabody is a retired HCL Associate Librarian. Her Family storytimes were enthusiastically greeted by members of the Franklin Library Community, and during the pandemic she and Teddy were widely & joyously recieved. Emily has performed with several community and professional theatres through the years and she has her own one woman show about our first elected US Congresswoman, Jeannette Rankin.
2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. - Rehearsal Hall
Christine Mounts
“Leecha”
Christine Mounts is a career IT professional by day and a writer by night. She writes poetry and memoir and travels as much as a working schlub like her can manage. She is also the co-founder the American School of Storytelling.
Amy Salloway
TBA
Actor/writer/storyteller Amy Salloway is a big fan of the Venn Diagram spot where live performance, human connection and social change overlap. Her award-winning autobiographical solo plays -- “Does This Monologue Make Me Look Fat?,” "So Kiss Me Already, Herschel Gertz!,” and “Circumference” -- have toured to audiences across the US and Canada, and she’s contributed personal stories to radio programs on MPR and CBC, as well as the national podcast “Risk!” Amy teaches narrative writing and performing of all kinds through The Story Studio and Minneapolis Community Education. She’s also a founding member of Off-Kilter, a new interdisciplinary performance cabaret featuring artists with disabilities. For more info, visit www.facebook.com/awkwardmomentonstage.
Ann Reay
“The Ashes Stir”
Ann Reay began storytelling at the MN Children’s Museum around the time it moved to Bandana Square and through the time it moved into its current location. During that time she also had residences in schools around the area and also one in Japan. Later, she worked for StoryWorks and hosted/told at venues around the Twin Cities.
When she moved to Denver, she was a member of the advisory board of the Rocky Mountain Storytellers. She was a board member of Northstar Storytellers, a precursor of StoryArts. She has been in and written for 3 Fringe Shows . Folk tales, fairy tales and myths fascinate her. She’s glad to be back in the Twin Cities.
Yarrow Knittel
“Growing Up Neither/Nor”
Yarrow’s parents worried their middle child would never learn to speak and thus cursed themselves. Yarrow has been telling stories ever since, though only recently turning compulsion into discipline. Through poetry, teaching, and storytelling Yarrow enjoys inviting people into their weird, sad, and funny experiences. Yarrow’s story “Growing Up Neither/Nor” is about 1970s and 80s gender roles and expectations and feeling “wrong” before finally finding new information and role models. Yarrow is the author (as Janna Knittel) of Real Work (Nodin Press, 2022) and Fish & Wild Life (Finishing Line, 2018) as well as poems in journals and anthologies.