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The 29th Annual Azalea Storytelling Festival is set to return in March with three tellers returning to the festival stage.

The weekend storytelling celebration will again be held at LaGrange College’s Callaway Auditorium with shows on March 7, 8, and 9.

This year’s lineup features performances by fan-favorite Donald Davis along with Josh Goforth, Michael Reno Harrell and Sheila Arnold. Local teller Carol Cane will emcee the festival.

Three of the tellers, Davis, Goforth and Harrell are returning to the Azalea Festival stage. 

“Davis has been coming since the beginning of Azalea. He’s an award-winning storyteller, so he’s very popular with our crowd, a lot of people come specifically for Donald,” said Azalea Storytelling Director Kirsten Dunn.

Grammy-nominated storyteller musician Josh Goforth will also return to LaGrange.

“He’s a nationally known storyteller. He does a lot of bluegrass and swing music in his performances. He plays more than 20 instruments,” Dunn said.

Michael Reno Harrell is also multi-talented. He’s a singer-songwriter and visual artist, Dunn said.

Sheila Arnold is new to the Azalea Storytelling stage.

“Arnold is a renowned storyteller, historical consultant, and performing artist. She’s passionate about history and culture, and she brings powerful, engaging narratives to audiences across the country and beyond,” Dunn said. “She talks a lot about history and culture, different types of like narratives that speak to a diverse audience.”

Davis and Goforth will be in LaGange the week leading up to the festival weekend going to community centers and organizations to promote the event.

Held each year during the first full weekend in March, the Azalea Storytelling Festival brings together regional and national storytellers for a three-day event with fun, inspiring and humorous tales delivered by talented performers.

The festival was founded in 1997 with the support of Davis. In the subsequent quarter of a century, the festival has grown from a single event to a year-round series of storytelling including A Taste of Storytelling, Stories with Friends and Stories in the Garden.

A Taste of Storytelling was held on Sunday at Lagrange Memorial Library to kick off the storytelling season. The event is held each February to offer a “taste” of what is to come from the main festival. Allen Keeble, Joyce Morgan Young and Natalie Jones performed at the event.

Stories With Friends is an often monthly gathering for those wanting to practice storytelling or share stories with friends and cheer them on.

Stories in the Garden is a free storytelling performance held each year in October at the beautiful Hills & Dales Estate.

Tickets are currently on sale for the full weekend of shows for this year’s Azalea Storytelling Festival in March with performances on Friday evening, Saturday morning, afternoon and evening and two shows on Sunday.

Tickets for the Saturday morning show are $25 and tickets for the evening and afternoon performances are $25. Sunday morning performances are free of charge. All-day Saturday and full-weekend tickets are also available for $60 and $75 respectively.

Tickets are available online at LSPArts.org, at (706) 882-9909, or in person at the LSPA business office (Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Tickets will also be sold at the door for all performances.