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Storytelling Festival Held at Grandfather Home for Children June 14 in Celebration of Its 100th Year

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By Travis Miller

June 9, 2014. Grandfather Home for Children will host a storytelling festival on Saturday, June 14 from noon to 4 p.m.

The festival will feature many famous storytellers from the region including Orville Hicks, Glen Bolick, Rhodyjane Meadows and Rick Ward. The storytellers will begin performing at 12:15 p.m. followed by the children of Grandfather Home at 3:15 p.m. who will tell their own stories. Admission is free.

The schedule for the event is as follows:

12:15 – 12:55 p.m.       Rick Ward
1:00 – 1:40 p.m.          Rhodyjane Meadows
1:45 – 2:25 p.m.          Orville Hicks
2:30 – 3:10 p.m.          Glenn Bolick
3:15 – 4:00 p.m.          Grandfather Home children

In addition to storytellers, the festival will feature food, crafts, vendors, games, inflatables and various other activities.

Famous Fast Eddie’s and Carolina Barbeque will sell food and local farms, including Sugar Bear Farm, Smith Farms and Avery Farms, will offer many of their products.

Craft specialists including jewelry makers, potters, balloon sculptors, glassblowers, quilters, weavers and bear carvers will display work, sell pieces and offer demonstrations.

In addition, there will be an obstacle course, a slide, a trackless train and animals provided by Apple Hill Farm.

Activities will be held outdoors and storytelling will be held in the outdoor amphitheater if weather permits. Otherwise, the event will be moved indoors to the gymnasium.

The festival is being held in celebration of Grandfather Home’s 100th year. The home was established in 1914 by Reverend Edgar Tufts who converted it from a farmhouse owned by the Lees-McRae Institute. Since then, it has grown into a sprawling campus and now supports more than 500 children per year who have suffered from neglect and abuse.

“We have a story and the children have a story. What better way is there to help tell that story?” said Melynda Martin Pepple, Regional Development Manager at Grandfather Home for Children.

“We’re just sharing with everyone that we have been serving for the last 100 years. This is gonna be a fun day.”

For more information on Grandfather Home for Children and the upcoming event, call 828-898-5465 or visit www.GrandfatherHome.org.