Madison Storyteller’s Festival

The autumn season brings with it changes in the weather, the start of school, and a variety of festivals and downtown events for Madisonians to enjoy. Saturday, September 16, welcomed an array of poets, authors, and like-minded organizations to the Madison Storyteller’s Festival on the corner of Main Street and Green Village. This event was run out of the Short Stories Community Book Hub for the second year in a row, with the additional help of the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. Other booths at the festival included the Harmonium Choral Society, Investors Bank, Writer’s Theatre, Prom on Mars, Kumon of Madison, Fox Beyer, Storybox Tales, The Sleigh Bell Letters, The Spotlight Kids Company, Madison Montessori School, Step Right Up Studio, the Madison Public Library, and Madison Mud. Sustenance was supplied by Lenny’s Cocina de Abuelita, which offered mouth-watering empanadas and beverages. A particularly unique addition to the festival came in the form of Aferro Photography’s mobile photo studio, which gave festival goers the opportunity to participate in a professional photo shoot. Attendees could be photographed in exchange for their permission to allow Aferro Photography to use their photos in an art exhibit, and would then receive digital copies of their photographs at no charge.

Throughout the festival, there were also performances within Short Stories. The Spotlight Kids Company, a Madison-based kids community theatre organization led by MHS alum Kathryn McManus, dazzled audiences with renditions of popular musical theatre numbers from Anastasia, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Hello Dolly, and Dear Evan Hansen. Mitra Sharif, a senior at Madison High School and reigning Poetry Out Loud regional champion, also left audiences speechless with her trademark spoken word performances of “For Love” by Robert Creeley and “Bleeding Heart” by Carmen Gimenéz Smith.

The festival was a welcoming and accessible event for people of all ages and all backgrounds. Large displays attracted those who just happened to be downtown, and games greeted both curious and dedicated attendees among the booths. Madison High School’s own literary arts magazine, Glyphs, also made an appearance alongside the professional organizations. MHS students Peri Munter and Kelly Notine ran the booth, which featured recent Glyphs magazines for sale, as well as a “write your own haiku” activity. Children and adults alike contributed to the haiku collection that was displayed throughout the day around the tent. Many people also supported the Glyphs magazine, which sold many copies during the festival. Overall, the Madison Storyteller’s Festival was a big hit, and if the event’s success is any indication of the future, it will be around for many years and many people to come.

Peri Munter
Festival attendees drafted poems at Glyphs’ table