TROY, Ala.– Nationally known storyteller Donald Davis will be among those “spinning yarns” at the Pike Piddlers Storytelling Festival Jan. 13 at Troy University.

The event is sponsored by the Troy University College of Communication and Fine Arts, the Brundidge Historical Society, the Troy Arts Council and the Alabama State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, with support from The Troy Messenger, the Alabama Farmers Cooperative, WTBF and The Printing Press. Also featured throughout the day will be storytellers Andy Offutt Irwin, B.J. Abraham, Shelia Fayson Jackson and Brent Holmes.

Known as the “Dean of Storytelling,” Davis grew up in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina and honed his tale-telling skills thanks in part to his Uncle Frank, who he says “talked in stories.”

“I discovered that in a story I could safely dream any dream, hope any hope, go anywhere I pleased, fight any foe, win or lose, live or die,” Davis said. “My stories created a safe experimental learning place. I didn’t learn stories, I just absorbed them.”

Three separate sets will be held on Saturday in the Trojan Center Theatre with each set featuring all storytellers. The morning set will run from 9:30 a.m. to noon, the afternoon set from 2 to 4:30 p.m. and the evening set from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $10 a set or $25 for all three and will be available at the door. Student tickets are $5 per set with valid student ID.

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