The San Francisco Free Folk Festival has hosted a storytelling program presented by the Storytelling Association of California (SAC) since 2017. We are happy to offer this again this year as part of our 
2023 festival.
The Storytelling Association of California is an organization dedicated to promoting storytelling as a living art form. We tell stories to adults and children, at festivals and schools; we share ideas and strategies for developing and telling stories in all venues; we’re interested in personal stories, as well as traditional tales, legends, and myths. We hope you will join us in 2023 for a workshop and a story set.
Here and There; Then and Now
A Concert and Workshop of Personal and Traditional Stories
Featuring Brandon Spars and Dana Sherry
July 8, 2023 in Golden Gate Park
The Storytelling Association of California (SAC) is proud to participate once again in the San Francisco Free Folk Festival. In the past we have had workshops and concerts, but, during Covid, we moved away from interactive workshops to fit Zoom programming. This year we are delighted to return to an in-person event, featuring two storytellers representing the range from personal storytelling to traditional folklore.
Noon to 1 pm: Concert featuring both tellers, Brandon Spars and Dana Sherry. Brandon will share personal stories from his adventures traveling and teaching high school. Dana will share traditional stories from the world of folklore.
1 pm to 2 pm: Workshop featuring tips and tricks from both tellers. There will be activities aimed for both personal storytelling and traditional folktales.
Dana Sherry was once a respectable historian of Russia, until she turned to a life of storytelling. Now, she tells traditional tales from Central Asia, the Caucasus, and beyond in concert halls, schools, libraries, and festivals in the US and the former Soviet Union. Her latest project focuses on the lives of saints, a treasure trove of Catholic folk tales that are as wild and unexpected as any fairy tale.
Brandon Spars has been a Storytelling Association of California board member for more than five years and is a storyteller in his own right. He began telling stories in his high school classroom and then took them out to the community about ten years ago. He loves blending personal stories with folktales. He has written four books on the art, craft, and history of storytelling.