Everyone loves a good story!
The Ottawa Children’s Storytelling Festival runs from November 21-26 at multiple locations across the capital. There will be great stories galore, in-person and online, for children aged 2-12 and for the young-at-heart.
Families can enjoy the diversity of story genre, style and culture that come from the collaboration of the three groups who make this festival special. Indigenous storytellers join non-Indigenous tellers to share French and English tales that celebrate nature, history, and imaginative wonders.
After each in-person storytelling session, children can participate in a craft table to try their hand at a story-related activity. Along with the stories, children can bring home their art!
In-person story performances will be:
• in English at Odawa Native Friendship Centre (815 St. Laurent Blvd), told by Indigenous and other storytellers
• in French at Centre Jules Léger (Westboro), shared by francophone tellers from Ottawa, Montreal and Edmonton!
• In both English and French at four library branches (Cumberland, Main Branch on Metcalf, Nepean Centerpointe, and Beaverbrook in Kanata)
• and 44 videos online, on demand, at Ottawa Public Library.
Saturday morning and afternoon, November 26, four branches will host in-person, two-part concerts presenting professional adult storytellers. The first hour of this program will feature stories told in English. In the second hour stories will be offered in French.
Examples of the magic:
The Alberta storyteller and drama educator Bethany Ellis will be sharing tales on Friday in French at Centre Jules Léger and Saturday at Cumberland library branch (morning) and the Main Library branch (afternoon). On Wednesday at Beaverbrook Library Bethany will host, in English, the Youth Stage Tellers, where the tellers will be young people aged 12 – 17 who have been honing their skills at workshops offered by Ottawa StoryTellers.
Daniel Richer, will be telling stories in both French and English at four sites during Festival Week (Odawa, Centre Jules-Léger, Nepean Centerpointe and Beaverbrook). Daniel will share stories from his Abenakis and Dakota roots.
Click here for the festival's full schedule.
For more information about the festival, please visit Children’s Storytelling Festival website or call (613) 322-8336.