Eugene (Gene) Q. Belote, 91, of Dunedin, Florida, passed away on Sunday, February 2, 2025, at Empath Suncoast Hospice Care Center in Palm Harbor.  He enjoyed storytelling. Gene was a master in telling true personal stories from his youth and as a national sales manager. Gene and Maureen both were active members of the Tampa […]

                                    Long before there was a Florida Storytelling Festival at the Lakeside Inn in Mount Dora, there was the annual Story Camp. Many of our current storyteller members have fond memories of the days when Florida tellers would gather each spring to celebrate storytelling.     Those memories will be shared on Friday night (Jan.

       The large white rocking chairs on the front porch of the historic Lakeside Inn in Mount Dora are inviting.  And those rockers will soon be filled with folks listening to a wide variety of storytellers.  Even before the annual Florida Storytelling Festival opens on Jan. 23 plans are to have two pre-festival porch telling

 The Florida Storytelling Festival launched our first Liars Contest in 2023. And that’s no lie. We are coming upon the third Liars Contest at the festival in January. The winner and champion teller of tall tales that first year was Pete Abdalla. He returned to defend his crown and won again at the  2024 Festival.

Storyteller and motivational expert Sue O’Halloran will conduct a workshop that will help sharpen your storytelling skills on Thursday, Jan. 23, prior to the opening of the Florida Storytelling Festival. O’Halloran, a writer, story artist, television personality, and keynote speaker, is offering her successful workshop on “Teaching Without Preaching: The Art of Edutainment” from 9:30am

As we approach Thanksgiving and the holiday season in December, it’s not too early to make plans to attend the annual Florida Storytelling Festival on the last weekend in January at the historic Lakeside Inn in Mount Dora. Tickets to the Festival make great holiday gifts. There will be four days of storytelling performances, including

Phyllis NeSmith, a former president and long-time member of the Florida Storytelling Association, passed away in August. She was 94. She was a well-known Florida storyteller who teamed with her friend and fellow storyteller Myra Davis of Bartow to perform as the “Peace River Tale Tellers”. Both Phyllis and Myra were retired schoolteachers who had

Ray Gant, a longtime member of the Sandcastle Storytellers and a past president of the group, passed away on July 20 at his home in Port Orange. He was 85. He was active and served as an officer in several Toastmaster groups in Brevard County, Jacksonville, and Volusia County. He won several awards for his

By Walt Belcher What is the best book for storytelling?    A book of stories?   Or a how-to book on the craft of storytelling? If you are a storyteller, then it’s very likely that both kinds of books are on your shelves.  My personal collection includes the classics such as “Aesop’s Fable” and “Grimm’s Fairy Tales”

The following is from Dr. Joel Ying’s blog on his website: Reprinted here with his permission. Joel is offering a storytelling conference at Florida Gulf Coast University. He is a past president of the Florida Storytelling Association and continues as the director of the FSA annual storytelling festival in Mount Dora. Theme: “Storytelling as Healing: Creating