Library sets storytelling festival for Nov. 23, 24

Library sets storytelling festival for Nov. 23, 24

Storyteller Rex Ellis will be the featured performer at the East Brunswick Public Library’s 10th annual James Hess Folklore and Storytelling Festival, set for 8 p.m. on Nov. 23 and 2 p.m. on Nov. 24 at the library, Jean Walling Civic Center. Tickets are on sale at the library circulation desk.

The Nov. 23 evening performance, Looking Back at Me and You, a recollection of growing up in the South during the 1950s and 1960s, is intended for adults and older teens. Tickets cost $15 and include a dessert buffet after the show. The Nov. 24 matinee, We’re in the Same Boat Now, featuring stories drawn from African-American history and culture, is geared to families with children ages 7 and up. Tickets cost $3 each, with a maximum charge of $7 per family.

Individuals who cannot get to the library to purchase tickets may do so through the mail. A $1 charge will be added for mailed tickets.

Klein’s repertoire of stories draws together African folklore and early American history into the Colonial-era African-American experience. Using poetry, music and dramatized storytelling, Ellis addresses often controversial subjects through tales that educate, inform and entertain.

Vice president of the Historic Area of the Colonial Williamsburg (Virginia) Foundation, Ellis holds a doctorate from the College of William and Mary, also Williamsburg. He is the former director of the Center for Museum Studies at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., and served as a technical adviser on Mel Gibson’s Revolutionary War film The Patriot. Ellis is the author of seven books and audio tapes.

The James Hess Folklore and Storytelling Festival is presented by the East Brunswick Friends of the Library with assistance from corporate sponsors Borders Books and Music, Comcast, Target and The Karma Foundation.

For information, call (732) 390-6789 or (732) 390-6783.