A Note from
the Board

Welcome to the 44th edition of Storytelling Toronto’s Toronto International Storytelling Festival.

Forty-four and stronger than ever! Where to begin to talk about the exciting program Storytelling Toronto and their team of curators, staff, and volunteers have put together? STT strives to advocate, educate, and inspire people about the art of oral storytelling, and to do this in a way that reflects our values of respect for the many traditions of telling, inclusiveness, and innovation. No tall order for the festival team, and once again they have succeeded in creating a line up with fabulous tellers from different traditions, places, lived experiences, and abilities. You can enjoy brand new stories, on-the-spot stories, and the enchantment and wisdom of traditional stories retold for our times. New and established tellers can enroll in workshops at the conference to hone their skills, or listen to talks reflecting on the art of oral storytelling and the nature of stories. The spoken word program pushes the boundaries by telling stories through poetry. These are just some of the exciting events to look forward to at the festival taking place in venues across the city. The venues were selected for accessibility and we will be live streaming and recording to allow as many people as possible to enjoy the program, live or later.

On behalf of the board, I’d like to thank Debra Baptise our Executive Director and Mandy MacLean our Operations and Outreach Manager, for their tireless work to make this festival another high point celebrating oral storytelling and Storytelling Toronto. And of course much thanks to the staff and volunteers on the team, and the tellers and listeners without whom none of this would be possible. 

Wishing you a great festival!