UofL to revive Corn Island Storytelling Festival

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    LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Afraid of the dark? You will be after a night of ghost stories at the University of Louisville.

    UofL and the International Order of E.A.R.S. will revive the Corn Island Storytelling Festival Friday, Oct. 12, in the Humanities Quadrangle on Belknap Campus. Several of the region’s top storytellers — including internationally renowned ghost story teller and writer Roberta Simpson Brown and Nana Yaa Asantewaa, winner of the Governor’s Community Artist Award — will share ghost tales beginning at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

    The evening will begin with about 90 minutes of family–friendly tales at 7 p.m.; the truly scary ghosts will come out at about 9 p.m. Activities also will include pumpkin painting and tombstone decorating contests. Sodexo will sell coffee, hot chocolate, cider and other drinks and treats on site.

    Named after Louisville’s first settlement, the Corn Island Storytelling Festival was a nationally known autumn fixture that drew thousands of fans for three decades before ending its run in 2007. Its ghost story nights were particularly popular, filling Long Run Cemetery and other locations for sometimes scary, often funny tales from the grave.

    UofL and the Corn Island organizers joined forces to revive the event, which is being funded through a grant from Louisville Metro Government and additional support from the Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity and International Affairs and University Libraries at UofL. Additional sponsors include WFPK-FM, Kentucky Homefront and the UofL Student Activities Board.

    Patrons should bring lawn chairs or blankets, flashlights and their imaginations.

    For more information, go to: www.Louisville.edu/events.

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    John Drees is a 35-year veteran in the Office of Communications and Marketing. As vice president, communications and marketing, he works closely with the president, provost and other senior administrators, oversees the Office of Communications and Marketing, including media relations, marketing and brand, broadcast, social media, internal communication, crisis communication, visitor services and special events and activities. A former sports editor for the Voice Newspapers, he was a regular contributor to a variety of publications, including the Kentucky Sports Report and the Courier-Journal. A poor but enthusiastic golfer, he is an avid Cardinal sports fan. He also loves the Detroit Lions, so pity him.