Beth Horner will be the featured storyteller at this year's Kearney Storytelling Festival to be held January 18-23. The Festival, in its 14th year, is a celebration of visual and spoken arts for all ages. Funding for the Festival depends on the generosity of donors, grants from the Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Humanities Council, and performance fees. The Storytelling Festival is a non-profit volunteer organization working in cooperation with the Kearney Area Community Foundation. Beth Horner is known for her broad repertoire of stories with musical flair. The Chicago-based storyteller draws from a variety of styles and stories: from her raucous childhood farmyard escapades to eerie folktales of her native Missouri, from her side-splitting spoof on romance novels to a quietly courageous tale of a young female American soldier fighting in Iraq. Horner's stories emanate from her own life as well as from the far corners of the world. Whatever the story, Horner’s vivacious style often incorporates music, creating unique performances that have earned her national acclaim. She has performed at the National Storytelling Festival, on Live from National Geographic, and was recently awarded the National Storytelling Network's Circle of Excellence Oracle Award. Teaching the art of storytelling is a particular passion for Beth. An adjunct faculty member at Dominican University in Chicago, she conducts workshops nationwide for school children and university students. Her current project is working with NASA to collect the stories of the Apollo missions. Beth’s goal as a storyteller is to entertain and to encourage her listeners to dip into the wealth of their own imaginations. "When you hear a story, you create that image yourself. When I’m telling stories to 50 different people, there are 50 different movies going on in the minds of listeners. Nothing is as powerful or vivid as your own imagination." When and Where Kearney Storytelling Festival performances FREE and open to the public include: Tuesday, January 19 7:00 p.m.—Kearney Public Library 2020 First Avenue Storytelling for Families with Beth Horner Wednesday, January 20 9:05-11:00 a.m. UNK Ockinga Conference Room Workshop with Beth Horner 7:00—8:00 p.m. First United Methodist Church 4500 Linden Drive, Performance by Beth Horner Thursday, January 21 9:30 a.m.—Kearney Public Library Stories for Families with Preschoolers with Beth Horner 11:00 a.m.—12:15 p.m. UNK Fine Arts Recital Hall Strong Women performance by Beth Horner 7:00-8:00 p.m. Lexington Public Library 907 N. Washington, Lexington, NE Performance by Beth Horner Saturday, January 23 Museum of Nebraska Art (Free will donations) 1:00 p.m.—Stories for Families with Mary Henning, Sherry Crow, and Beth Horner 3:00 p.m.—Stories for Families with Sherry Crow, Mark Johnson, and Beth Horner 7:30 p.m.—Stories for Adults presented by National Storyteller Beth Horner These Presentations are all FREE to the Public... Thanks to generous support from private and corporate donors: Kearney Rotary, Golden K Kiwanis, Central Nebraska Reading Council, Kearney Public Library, UNK Faculty Senate Artists and Lecturers Committee, Museum of Nebraska Art, Central Nebraska Auto Club, Educational Service Unit No. 10. This program is funded in part by the Nebraska Humanities Council and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment. More Information For more information regarding the Kearney Storytelling Festival, contact: Sherry Crow (308)224-3407 crowsr@unk.edu