From Flaming Bicycles to a Chicken Man- Three Tall Tales From W.Va. Award Winning Storytellers

This week, we’re listening back to a popular show we did back in 2016, featuring award winning storytellers— telling some whopping tale and lies.

We’ll be featuring storytellers from the West Virginia Storyteller’s Guild, all of whom have competed and won prizes across the country. 

The Thong

To kick things off, how about a story about a thong?

Suzi Whaples hails from Dunbar, West Virginia. We’ll hear a story she told at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee.

Firebike

We’ll also hear a tall tale about first loves, and flaming bicycles. It’s told by Bil Lepp, a storyteller from Charleston, West Virginia who was called “a side-splittingly funny man” by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife. 

Credit courtesy Adam Booth

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Roll-a-Rama

And we’ll hear a story about roller skating from award winning West Virginia storyteller Adam Booth telling, “Roller Rama”.

Storytelling Festivals:

• Fri, Jun 22, 201812:00 PM  Sat, Jun 23, 20184:30 PM, Storytellers Kirk Judd, Judi Tarowsky, Katie and Otto Ross, Natalie Sypolt, Janet Smart, Adam Booth and Sherrell Wigal will perform at the W.Va. State Folk Festival in Glenville, W.Va. 
• October 5-7, 2018, 46th annual National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. 

Inside Appalachia is produced by Roxy Todd. Jesse Wright is our executive producer. We’d love to hear from you. Send us tweet @InAppalachia.

We have two episodes of Inside Appalachia we’re working on this summer and to help us out, we’d love to hear from some of you.

Hidden Gems 

We are starting a new summer series all about getting outside, enjoying wild wonderful recreational activities, and staying safe while having fun. Please send us your hidden gems, outdoor favorites and organizations that are doing awesome things to help people enjoy the great outdoors.

If you have a suggestion for somewhere you think we should explore for a story, send it to Insideappalachia@wvpublic.org.

Baseball in Appalachia

We’re also working on an episode about Baseball in Appalachia. Many people who grew up in Appalachia remember playing baseball, and especially when coal was thriving, company-sponsored teams have been common throughout the coalfields. What are your baseball memories? We’re teaming up with the West Virginia Folklife Program for this episode, so call their hotline and tell us about your baseball story. Leave a message at 1-844-618-3747. You can also send us an email to InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org. We look forward to hearing some of your baseball memories!