WHAT is Tellabration!^TM and How Did It Begin? It's a mammoth storytelling event - and that's no Tall Tale! It's a storytelling phenomenon, made up of dozens of storytelling happenings all over the world.

Tellabration! began right here in Connecticut, when Connecticut storytelller and CSC member, J. G. Pinkerton, conceived the idea as a way to re-introduce grown-ups to the pleasures of storytelling as entertainment. On Friday, November 18, 1988, the Connecticut Storytelling Center sponsored six Tellabrations in the state, produced by regional Connecticut Story-Sharing groups, with J. G. as statewide producer. Tellabration's success in Connecticut led some other states to follow suit the next year, and in 1990, Tellabration expanded nationwide under the umbrella of NAPPS, the organization which eventually became the National Storytelling Network.

Tellabration! is, as J.G.Pinkerton once envisaged, like a night of a thousand stars - each star a story. Imagine thousands of listeners and tellers, worldwide, coming together in spirit, and approximately in "real time", to celebrate the joy of story. Young, old and in-between, they gather in every imaginable venue: theatres, outdoor plazas, libraries, living rooms, community halls, colleges, museums, coffee houses, national parks, barns, historic sites, back yards - and - yes! - all around the world. In 1995, for the first time, there was a Tellabration! in Japan, brought there by Japanese storyteller Masako Sueyoshi, who had been a part of Tellabration! when she lived in Connecticut. By 1997, there were Tellabration! events on every continent but Antarctica! Tellabration! always takes place in November.

Bring Tellabration*! to YOUR Community!

Visit the National Tellabration!^TM website (worldwide site listing, producer information and resources, and more.)