IJAMS SUNSET SERIES: A Night of Celtic Tales

Join Ijams and the Smoky Mountain Storytellers Association on May 1 for the Gaelic celebration of Beltane, the beginning of summer.  In lieu of Maypoles and bonfires, come hear some Celtic tales and stories that will bring you joyously into sweet summer!  

Featured tellers are Stephen and Susan Fulbright, Gale Parks, Fred Goddard, and Jennifer Alldredge.

Doors open at 6 pm, stories begin at 7 pm. Tickets for this event are $12 for adults; $6 for kids ages 5-12. 

The Ijams Beer Garden and concession area will be open all evening.

This event will be held on the back patio at the Ijams Visitor Center. In case of inclement weather, the event will move indoors.

The Ijams Sunset Series is sponsored by Boston Beer Company.

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About the Smoky Mountain Storytellers Association

The Smoky Mountain Storytellers Association comprises folks who love telling, listening to, and rejoicing in our rich heritage of stories. Audiences find a multitude of telling styles and genres among its members, so you never know what you may find as the next story unfolds! For more information, find the group on Facebook or check out www.smokymountaintellers.org.

About the Storytellers

Susan Fulbright

Susan has been a teller of tales for over 40 years. Listening to tales on her granny’s knee instilled a love for storytelling. A retired teacher having received a masters in storytelling and reading at ETSU, Susan served an apprenticeship with the Houston Storytellers Guild and became an OGS, an Official Guild Storyteller. With Stephen, she has told stories in schools, churches, distilleries, hospitals, private homes, coffeehouses, Dreammore at Dollywood, and wherever people want a good tale. Her stories include folk tales, legends, created tales, whoppers, family tales, ghost tales, and tandem tales with Stephen.

Stephen Fulbright

Stephen is an engineer by trade, but, being a good Tennessee boy, he has always had a love of stories. Branching out into telling tales has come late, but this Walter’s State math adjunct keeps on learning. Stephen has stories of his misspent youth, which Susan had not heard until a dinner party after they had been married for 7 years! It was hair-raising! He's a natural. Stephen has created tales of the mountains for young and old. With Susan, he performs tandem tales.

Fred Goddard: Fred?  Where to begin. A member of the First Families of Tennessee who grew up in New Jersey. The son of a farmer who once got assaulted by a chicken and the owner of a BA in History who had a career in Facilities management. Fred blends all of this in his tales of history, family and fun.

Gale Park is a writer, artist, mystic and storyteller. She is the author of a book called “Sacred Circles: Wheels of Power and Connection,” which helps people to understand the spiritual aspects of nature and get in synch with natural cycles. She is a student of Celtic culture and history, so she loves to tell the old stories to crowds or just around a campfire with friends. She and her dogs live in a cabin in a sustainable community in the Clinch Mountains of East Tennessee. She spends weeks or months each year traveling in her van.

Jennifer Alldredge

Jennifer Alldredge is a retired energy efficiency educator and former librarian who has been telling stories for many years. From Native American stories, fairy tales, scary stories, or stories just for fun, Jennifer enjoys telling them all to suit any audience. Besides storytelling, she has been an actor, stage manager, and director for Tennessee Stage Company, is a published writer, and is an environmentalist focused on climate change action.  Most of all, she loves reading and collecting stories to share!