2019 Northwest Folklife Festival: Full Schedule

Presented by Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, the 48th Annual Northwest Folklife Festival returns on Memorial Day Weekend (May 24 - 27, 2019). This is the place to #FindYourFolk.

7:00pm PDT

AuntMama and The Go Janes

Stories-to-Song-to-Stories, Harmonies, Harp-Like Ukes

Artist

AuntMama and The Go Janes

The two female members of super-harmonizing trio Uncle Bonsai (Patrice O’Neill and Arni Adler) plus Kathleen Tracy (composer arranger choir conductor) deploy harp-like ukuleles and guitar for songs about mornings, shoeboxes, swallowing flies, children/mothers, magicians, purses... Read More →

Friday May 24, 2019 7:00pm - 7:25pm PDT
Folklife Underground Café 305 Harrison St. Seattle, WA 98109

Storytelling/Spoken Word, Tantalizing Tales

Genre Storytellers

7:30pm PDT

Brianna Barrett

Humorous and Modern Personal Stories

Artist

Brianna Barrett

Brianna Barrett is a member of LineStorm Playwrights, a company-in-residence at Artist Repertory Theatre, and serves on the board of the Portland Area Theater Alliance. She was named “Portland's Best Storyteller” in Willamette Week’s annual Best of Portland awards in both 2016... Read More →

Friday May 24, 2019 7:30pm - 7:55pm PDT
Folklife Underground Café 305 Harrison St. Seattle, WA 98109

Storytelling/Spoken Word, Tantalizing Tales

Genre Storytellers

8:00pm PDT

Larry Hohm

Chilling Stories

Artist

Larry Hohm

Larry Hohm tell stories with an edge—compelling works of fiction written by accomplished authors. He has performed at the Northwest Folklife Festival, the Forest Storytelling Festival in Port Angeles, the Pocket Theater in Seattle, the Swedish Club in Seattle, and other venues... Read More →

Friday May 24, 2019 8:00pm - 8:25pm PDT
Folklife Underground Café 305 Harrison St. Seattle, WA 98109

Storytelling/Spoken Word, Tantalizing Tales

Genre Storytellers

8:30pm PDT

Sam Blackman

Poignent, Thought-Provoking True Stories

Artist

Sam Blackman

Sam Blackman is a philosopher physician-scientist cancer drug developer and prolific storyteller. Raised in New Jersey and educated in Chicago and now living in Seattle Sam has been telling poignant, funny, and thought-provoking stories at The Moth since December of 2015. He has won... Read More →

Friday May 24, 2019 8:30pm - 9:00pm PDT
Folklife Underground Café 305 Harrison St. Seattle, WA 98109

Storytelling/Spoken Word, Tantalizing Tales

Genre Storytellers

8:45pm PDT

Surreal Storytelling with Strange Women

Storytelling with Women featuring Anastacia-Renee, Kate Bernatche, Kate Berwanger, and Tessa Zeng

Artist

Surreal Storytelling with Strange Women

Inspired by strange women and surreal storytellers like Catherynne M. Valente and Aimee Bender, Kate dreamed of creating a platform to showcase voices of the peculiar. Surreal Storytelling with Strange Women was born August 2018. At each Surreal Storytelling event, four women take... Read More →

Friday May 24, 2019 8:45pm - 10:00pm PDT
Center Theatre 305 Harrison St. Seattle, WA 98109

Storytelling/Spoken Word, Surreal Storytelling with Strange Women

Genre Storytellers

11:00am PDT

Moved By Words

POC Intergenerational Voices Poetry

Artist

Moved By Words

Skyler Reed has authored two chapbooks (&allampersands Sex&Wikipedia) and the editor of Moved By Words Miriam Gabriel is a poet who earned a Masters from CUNY focusing on Arab cinema and post-Ottoman gender and race Robert Lashley is an Artist Trust recipient Stranger Genius Award... Read More →

Saturday May 25, 2019 11:00am - 11:45am PDT
Cornish Playhouse: Sponsored by KUOW 94.9 201 Mercer St, Seattle, WA 98109

Storytelling/Spoken Word, Youth Voices Showcase

Genre Spoken Word/Poetry
Program Cultural Focus Showcase

12:00pm PDT

Seattle Arts and Lectures' Youth Poet Laureate Program

Civically Engaged Youth Poetry

Artist

Seattle Arts and Lectures' Youth Poet Laureate Program

The Seattle Youth Poet Laureate is a joint program of Seattle Arts & Lectures’ Writers in the Schools and Urban Word NYC. Founded in Seattle in 2015 by writers Matt Gano and Aaron Counts, the YPL program aims to identify young writers and leaders who are committed to civic and community... Read More →

Saturday May 25, 2019 12:00pm - 12:45pm PDT
Cornish Playhouse: Sponsored by KUOW 94.9 201 Mercer St, Seattle, WA 98109

Storytelling/Spoken Word, Youth Voices Showcase

Genre Spoken Word/Poetry
Program Cultural Focus Showcase

1:00pm PDT

Ringside

Revolutionary Poets

Artist

Ringside

Revolutionary Poets

Saturday May 25, 2019 1:00pm - 1:30pm PDT
Cornish Playhouse: Sponsored by KUOW 94.9 201 Mercer St, Seattle, WA 98109

Storytelling/Spoken Word, Youth Voices Showcase

Genre Spoken Word/Poetry
Program Cultural Focus Showcase

1:30pm PDT

Crankie Showcase

Enchanting moving panoramas, with music, songs, and stories, presented by Betsy Brown, Sandy Buchner, Kelsey Nelsen, Cary Lung, Alex MacLeod, Melanie Brauner & Kevin Auld, Emily & Maggie Teachout, and Scuff Acuff & Alison Metheny.

Artist

Crankie Showcase

The Folklife Crankie Showcase features Northwest crankie artists performing stories using moving panoramas, or "crankies." The showcase always presents a variety of artistic styles, musical performances, and stories ranging from new and novel to cultural and traditional.

Saturday May 25, 2019 1:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
Center Theatre 305 Harrison St. Seattle, WA 98109

Storytelling/Spoken Word, Crankie Showcase

Genre Storytellers
Program Kids Programming

2:30pm PDT

Jack Straw Writers Program

Northwest poets and storytellers

Artist

Jack Straw Writers Program

The Jack Straw Writers Program was created in 1997 to introduce local writers to the medium of recorded audio; to develop their presentation skills for both live and recorded readings; to encourage the creation of new literary work; to present the writers and their work in live readings... Read More →

Saturday May 25, 2019 2:30pm - 3:45pm PDT
Folklife Underground Café 305 Harrison St. Seattle, WA 98109

Storytelling/Spoken Word, Jack Straw Cultural Center presents

Genre Spoken Word/Poetry
Program Cultural Focus Showcase

8:00pm PDT

Allison Cox

Jump outa yer skin!

Artist

Allison Cox

Allison Cox has been performing as a freelance storyteller for 37 years across the U.S. and Canada, New Zealand, Denmark and Sweden. She co-edited and contributed to THE HEALING HEART books on storytelling for healthy communities and is a co-founder of the Healing Story Alliance... Read More →

Saturday May 25, 2019 8:00pm - 8:25pm PDT
Center Theatre 305 Harrison St. Seattle, WA 98109

Storytelling/Spoken Word, Ghost Stories

Genre Storytellers

8:30pm PDT

Trish Anderson

Vibrant, Lively, Eerie Storytelling

Artist

Trish Anderson

Puget Sound native Trish Anderson sorts and organizes words, ideas, images and objects to suit her own sense of fun. A dedicated Crone Scout, she started storytelling to take the heat off a frightening event in her past. It worked, and along the way she found that storytelling allowed... Read More →

Saturday May 25, 2019 8:30pm - 8:55pm PDT
Center Theatre 305 Harrison St. Seattle, WA 98109

Storytelling/Spoken Word, Ghost Stories

Genre Storytellers

9:00pm PDT

Cherie Trebon

Enigmatic Storytelling Surprises

Artist

Cherie Trebon

A lifetime story listener Cherie Trebon has been telling stories in the US and abroad to all age groups for over 30 years. She is a member of the Seattle Storytellers Guild where she was on the board serving as treasurer and President. She is also a member of The Story People of Clallam... Read More →

Saturday May 25, 2019 9:00pm - 9:25pm PDT
Center Theatre 305 Harrison St. Seattle, WA 98109

Storytelling/Spoken Word, Ghost Stories

Genre Storytellers

9:30pm PDT

Anne & Norm

Spirited Storytelling

Artist

Anne & Norm

Anne Rutherford and Norm Brecke have been performing almost continuously together since 2014. Anne got an idea for a story program for adults in 1999, rented a hall, sold tickets - and people came! She’s a four-time winner of the Folklife Liar’s Contest and was a featured teller... Read More →

Saturday May 25, 2019 9:30pm - 9:55pm PDT
Center Theatre 305 Harrison St. Seattle, WA 98109

Storytelling/Spoken Word, Ghost Stories

Genre Storytellers

1:00pm PDT

Norm Brecke

Super Friendly Family Fun

Artist

Norm Brecke

Norm loves a good story. Before becoming a full-time professional storyteller, he was an award-winning teacher, telling stories daily in his classroom and teaching storytelling skills to students after school. Norm has told stories from Oregon to South Carolina, L.A. to B.C. He’s... Read More →

Sunday May 26, 2019 1:00pm - 1:25pm PDT
Discovery Zone Stage 305 Harrison St. Seattle, WA 98109

Storytelling/Spoken Word, Stories for the Whole Family

Genre Storytellers
Program Kids Programming

1:25pm PDT

Uncle Peter

True and Magical Stories!

Artist

Uncle Peter

Uncle Peter is an inspirational story teller creating grand visions in the imaginations of his audiences. He performs original and found stories, complete with custom soundtracks, freely engaging the audiences as the stories unfold. Uncle Peter tells uplifting tales to children of... Read More →

Sunday May 26, 2019 1:25pm - 1:50pm PDT
Discovery Zone Stage 305 Harrison St. Seattle, WA 98109

Storytelling/Spoken Word, Stories for the Whole Family

Genre Storytellers
Program Kids Programming

3:00pm PDT

KUOW's RadioActive Youth Media

Radio Storytelling by Teens Featuring Annika Prom, Mimi Zekaryas, Acacia Niyogi, Tre’vion Sinclair, and Leila Abe

Artist

KUOW's RadioActive Youth Media

RadioActive Youth Media is a program of KUOW 94.9 Public Radio. It's a place where young people discover public radio journalism and gain access to the skills, community and institutional resources that spur their growth as media makers. Through their stories listeners of all ages... Read More →

Sunday May 26, 2019 3:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
Cornish Playhouse: Sponsored by KUOW 94.9 201 Mercer St, Seattle, WA 98109

Storytelling/Spoken Word, KUOW RadioActive

Genre Storytellers
Program Cultural Focus Showcase

5:45pm PDT

Liars Contest: 8 Minutes to Glory

Do you have a family story, personal story, folktale, or joke that stretches the boundaries of truth and/or fact? Enter the world-famous NW Folklife Liars Contest for your chance at glory — and “valuable” trophies. Stories are limited to 8 minutes and must be told without notes. Sign-up in the lobby of the venue from 5-5:45 to get your spot!

Sunday May 26, 2019 5:45pm - 7:45pm PDT
Center Theatre 305 Harrison St. Seattle, WA 98109

Storytelling/Spoken Word, Liars Contest

Genre Storytellers

6:25pm PDT

American Radio Theater

Radio Theater Performed Live

Artist

American Radio Theater

American Radio Theater is an amateur troupe of performers, enthusiasts of classic-style radio performance. We re-create old shows where the scripts exist, but no known recordings; we also present new, original plays done in the classic radio style, often with live sound-effects and... Read More →

Sunday May 26, 2019 6:25pm - 7:00pm PDT
Folklife Underground Café 305 Harrison St. Seattle, WA 98109

Storytelling/Spoken Word, American Radio Theater

Genre Spoken Word/Poetry

3:00pm PDT

Hosted by Anne & Norm: Storytellers

This non-competitive story slam asks participants to tell a 5-minute story that happened to them, without notes, on the theme Youthful Feats & Follies. Sign-up at 3:00 at the venue.

Artist

Anne & Norm

Together Anne & Norm perform, produce shows, and lead workshops throughout the U.S. since 2014. In Portland, they produced Scared in PDX, Personality on Tap, and currently Stories on Tap. They have performed at the Walters Cultural Arts Center many times, the Port Angeles Celtic Concert... Read More →

Monday May 27, 2019 3:00pm - 4:50pm PDT
Studio C - Music Workshops 305 Harrison St. Seattle, WA 98109

Storytelling/Spoken Word, Story Slam: Youthful Feats & Follies

Genre Storytellers