Real-time event on festival day with pre-registration required. You can find the registration link near the top of the program page when the link is ready.
Storytelling events are presented by the Storytelling Association of California (SAC).
The pandemic may have shut down “live” storytelling, but it gave many storytellers an unprecedented opportunity to tell their tales far and wide on Zoom. We’ve been able to enjoy — and even participate in — concerts originating thousands of miles away. In 2021, the San Francisco Free Folk Festival takes advantage of this dissolution of geographical boundaries with an invitational showcase curated by Marilyn McPhie (San Diego) and Tina Tomiyama (South Los Angeles). Marilyn and Tina have combed the southern half of the state to find seven tellers representing the diversity and creativity of the region. We hope you enjoy every one of them!
Marilyn McPhie is a professional storyteller, speaker, and teaching artist, creating, performing, and teaching stories of all kinds — personal, literary, traditional, and more — for audiences of all ages and levels of storytelling experience. She has coached storytellers from school students to professionals preparing important presentations. She has performed nationally and internationally and has been seen in venues as diverse as the Exchange Place of the National Storytelling Festival and the TEDx stage. She is the president of Storytellers of San Diego and the Pacific Region Director for the National Storytelling Network.
Tina Tomiyama is a graphic artist who discovered the wonders of storytelling when she heard Barbara H. Clark telling her unforgettable tales at a neighbor’s jazz concert in south-central Los Angeles. In retirement, Tina co-founded a storytelling Toastmasters club in 2011 and began team-teaching business storytelling at Charles Drew University. She studies with Barbara Clark and others, and has spoken at the Institute of Musical Arts, Strong Words, The Antidote, the Los Angeles Public Library, StoryMasters and other venues. Tina is on the board of the Storytelling Association of California.