Kala Jojo combines authentic African instruments with traditional folktales. He believes stories should be vehicles for healing and for life application, and he presents them in a powerful form.

Willy Claflin is a folk musician and puppeteer who twists traditional tales for laughs. With help from a puppet, Maynard Moose, Claflin reels in listeners with character descriptions and a vocabulary of "nonwords."

Gay Ducey uses a spunky, dry wit to share stories from a number of world cultures, folk history and her personal life. Award-winning and nationally recognized Ducey is still the children's librarian in her hometown.

Diane Ferlatte developed storytelling as a way to replace television for her children while passing on history, culture and values. She focuses on African, southern and African-American tales, combined with music, rhyme and sign language.

Andy Offutt Irwin is an eclectic combination of singer, songwriter, comedian, thespian and storyteller. Using a guitar, a number of voices and physical shenanigans, Irwin brings to the stage a repertoire of hilarious stories.

Erica Lann-Clark is a child of immigrants who escaped the Holocaust, raised with rich experiences that have blossomed into stories about respect for self, joy in life and self-knowledge. Energetic with a rambunctious sense of humor, Lann-Clark is an award-winning actor, teacher and playwright.

Bil Lepp is five-time champion of the West Virginia Liars Contest. Often combining with a favorite imaginary sidekick, Buck-dog, Lepp starts with an interesting story that quickly turns into a zany adventure.

David Massengill grew up on the Tennessee-Virginia border, and storytelling was a natural evolution for him. His original folk songs stand apart, sometimes mistaken for traditional ballads.

Maggi Peirce grew up in Belfast, Ireland, surrounded by song, rhyme and Victorian parlor recitation. She draws on her history to pull listeners to the streets of Belfast, the hills of Ulster and the parlor.

Gayle Ross is a descendent of John Ross, the principal chief of the Cherokee nation during the legendary Trail of Tears. She tells stories based on the heritage learned at her grandmother's knee, successfully weaving Cherokee stories with history and contemporary Indian issues.