Autumn storytelling comes to Angus

As part of SISF Go Local, Gorge-ous Nature Stories is taking place on Sunday 31 October at Edzell.

Join storyteller Cara Roberts through the Blue Door on this story walk beside the beautiful Gannochy Gorge where you can find out some of the myths and stories associated with our native species and landscape. Hear folktales, and share celebrations of the rivers, trees, and birds that have shaped our understanding of the world.

Scottish International Storytelling Festival (SISF) is organised by Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland (TRACS), taking place annually in autumn since 1989 and is now set to welcome back in-person audiences for most diverse festival to date as the programme for 2021 Festival is revealed.

The festival expands from its base in Edinburgh to showcase storytelling events all over Scotland for its largest Go Local programme to date with almost 40 events taking place from Dumfries and Galloway to Orkney.

The programme for the 2021 Scottish International Storytelling Festival and the festival theme Imagine promises an eclectic mix of online events spanning across the globe and small-scale face-to-face events. For the first time SISF 2021 extended an open invitation to storytellers, based or working in Scotland, to join the Festival’s creative process by submitting a proposal on the theme of Imagine. The result is a series of new works developed by storytellers and musicians’, supported by the Scottish Government Festival Expo Fund. Leading storytellers from Scotland and beyond will showcase new works. This year’s festival invites audiences to imagine something different. To imagine pasts, futures, or a timeless other. Festival visitors will be invited to dip into dreams and desires, old and new, lost worlds and worlds still to become.

Speaking at the Festival launch Scottish International Storytelling Festival Director Donald Smith said: “Stories and songs are vital for human survival. They carry our emotions, memories and values. They bind us together as families, communities and a nation, especially through tough times. As we emerge from the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Scottish International Storytelling Festival will continue to engage, inspire and entertain as we travel through stories."

For 2021, the Festival plans to return to theatres, including The Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh. To keep serving international audiences and to reach those who cannot attend in person, the team will also continue to develop the festival’s digital programme.

Gorge-ous Nature Stories at Edzell starts at 2pm. For tickets and info contact [email protected]