Wimberley StoryFest set for weekend of February 17

Staff Reports

WIMBERLEY – Purveyors of all manner of tales and tunes, posey and scripted palaver will tout their talents at StoryFest 2022 on Feb. 17-20 at five venues in Wimberley sponsored by Wimberley Valley Arts and Cultural Alliance (WVACA).

Tickets are now on sale for the festival, the second of its kind here, at www.wimberleystoryfest.org.

A WVACA-created committee headed by Board Member Don Minnick decided in early planning to open the event to storytellers in all forms.

Headliners include nationally recognized singer-songwriters such as Susan Gibson, Slaid Cleaves, and Adam Carroll, storyteller W.F. Strong and poet, author and musician Nathan Brown, all of whom have Wimberley connections.

The festival will also feature a full-length performance at the Wimberley Playhouse by the Wimberley Players who are opening their season with a production of “Clue,” a farce and murder mystery inspired by the classic board game.

This year’s festival picks up where the 2020 version, a one-day affair featuring traditional storytellers, left off.

“Our plan is to continue a version of a StoryFest annually for years to come,” Minnick said. “Our hope is that story fests like this one will become a powerful community-builder, and the next step of a much-loved tradition in the Wimberley valley.”

This year’s event kicks off Thursday evening, Feb. 17, at Middleton Brewery, a brewpub on Ranch Road 12 just south of Wimberley. The evening will be filled with readings by local and area poets who are able to distill story to its essence.

Friday night, Feb. 18, is devoted to singer/songwriters at Old Glory Ranch. It will start with a meet-and-greet with the performers, along with food and drink, followed by a showcase of up-and-coming musicians, and a song-and-story swap with local favorites. The headliners will be the main event.

“Old Glory’s Chapel Hall will be the scene of some of the best stories in song the musical artists in our community have to offer,” Minnick said.

All day Saturday, Feb. 19, brings the return of traditional storytellers in two classic Wimberley venues: The Opera House in Pioneer Town at historic 7A Ranch, and the Burdine Theater at Emily Ann Theater and Gardens. Attendees can choose either location to spend the day and hear the same full program of storytellers.

StoryFest concludes Sunday, Feb. 20 at the Wimberley Playhouse.

The morning is devoted to “illustrated storytellers” – those who have a visual component to the story they have to tell. In the afternoon there will be a dedicated block of seats to see the first production of the Wimberley Players 2022 season: “Clue.” (Based on the 1985 Paramount movie and based loosely on the Hasbro board game, “Clue” is a farce-meets-murder mystery. The setting is a remote mansion where a murder ensues. Miss Scarlett, Professor Plum, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock, and Colonel Mustard, all race to find out who killed their host, where and with what.)

Tickets are selling for each event individually and for the festival as a whole. More information on all the events is available at WVACA’s StoryFest website: www.wimberleystoryfest.org. 

“We intend to lay claim to Wimberley being ‘The Story Capital of Texas,’ ” Minnick added.  “I suspect there other storytelling gatherings in cities and towns in Texas. But, if any other community wants to challenge our claim, let them bring their evidence. I’d feel perfectly safe saying that Wimberley has more talent in all these story forms than any other community our size in Texas.

“The people who tell stories offer us connection and involvement,” Minnick said. “And the people who take time to listen to stories are among the most open-hearted and gratitude-filled people one could ever hope to assemble.”