Learn the Art of Storytelling at C.W. Post’s 38th Annual Storytelling Festival

March 17, 2003 — While communicating messages via email and cell phones become more and more prevalent in our society, there are still people who treasure and teach the age-old art of storytelling. On Sunday, May 4, 2003, The Storytelling Institute, part of the Palmer School of Library and Information Science at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, will host the 38th Annual Storytelling Festival. The daylong event will include four fun and informative sessions, each featuring a talented and unique storyteller. The festival is geared toward educators, librarians and parents, and is designed to enhance participants’ storytelling skills with practical tips that can be applied immediately.

The festival will begin with a welcome and opening remarks by Dr. David Steinberg, president of Long Island University and Sondra Winder, president of the Long Island Association of Jewish Libraries. Four sessions will follow, each led by career storytellers.

In session one, Rabbi Marc Gellman, senior rabbi of Temple Beth Torah in Melville, N.Y., author of several children’s books and co-host of the national television program "The God Squad," will offer "How Are We the Same and How Are We Different?" Session two, "A Jewish Cinderella," will feature an entertaining presentation by Katie Hereld, a career storyteller whose background in education and opera singing contribute vividly to her whimsical tales. In the third session, writer, educator and storyteller Lisa Lipkin will offer "A New Yorker’s Guide to the Bible: Hilarious Bible Stories Told from a New Yorker’s Perspective" in her own unique and imaginative way. The day will wrap up with session four, "Tales that Touch the Soul," with Yitzhak Buxbaum, an inspired teacher and storyteller who delivers stories of wisdom and action with warmth and humor.

This event is co-sponsored by the Palmer School of Library and Information Science, the C.W. Post Division of Continuing Education, and the Long Island Association of Jewish Libraries. The festival will take place on Sunday, May 4, 2003 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Lorber Hall, Room 100 on the C.W. Post Campus, 720 Northern Blvd., Brookville, NY. Cost for participation is $70 and includes continental breakfast, kosher luncheon, all handouts and a full day of storytelling. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. Seating is limited so advance registration is recommended. For registration materials or additional information, contact the C.W. Post School of Continuing Studies at (516) 299-2236.