Bay Area Storytelling Festival
20-21 June 2025
In 2025 the 34th Bay Area Storytelling Festival will be once again held at the beautiful Sonoma Academy in Santa Rosa, California. With sweeping views of the surrounding hills and a new, state-of-the-art 350-seat theater, it's the perfect location to gather as a storytelling community. In the heart of Sonoma County, Santa Rosa provides the perfect setting for a storytelling weekend adventure.
Become a Festival Sponsor
Please consider becoming a Festival Sponsor. There are several levels available from $500 to $5000.
To find out more, email: bayareastoryfest@gmail.com. Thank you.
Click HERE for information about how to submit a teller application.
If you have any questions regarding ticketing or sponsorship, please email us at bayareastoryfest@gmail.com
The Festival is thrilled to welcome these internationally known artists:
Charlotte Blake Alston
Charlotte Blake Alston tells stories from African and African American oral traditions. She has performed in venues throughout North America and abroad, including the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Women of the World Festival in South Africa and festivals in Ireland, Austria and Brazil She is a recipient of the NSN ORACLE Circle of Excellence award, the Pew Fellowship in the Arts, the Pennsylvania Artist of the Year Award and the Zora Neale Hurston Award. In 2021 she was named the Official Storyteller, Narrator, and Host of The Philadelphia Orchestra.
Dovie Thomason
Dovie Thomason, one of the most respected and admired storytellers of her generation, cherishes being described as a river, fed by many streams. She draws deeply from all of those influences: Lakota, Apache, and Scot Traveller descent, Indigenous elders and Internet, kitchen-table wisdom and classrooms, urban Chicago and rural Texas, quarter-acre gardens, and world travel. Dovie began as a teller of the old stories, absorbed from her Grandma, which has garnered devoted listeners of all ages. She also creates stories that weave untold histories, memories, and imaginings into captivating and thought-provoking explorations of family, community, and relationships. Thomason is an NSN ORACLE Circle of Excellence award recipient.
Willy Claflin
Willy Claflin is a one-man festival. Spanning historical sagas, intergalactic yarns, Mother Moose Tales, and counter culture misadventures, he covers the full spectrum of spoken word entertainment. He is the speaking-mouth-person for Maynard Moose, the only quadruped on the storytelling circuit. He also sings traditional ballads from the British Isles and Appalachia, blues, and his own original tunes. Claflin has authored multiple award-winning recordings and has performed across the globe, including at the International Storytelling Festival in Ireland. He is an NSN ORACLE Circle of Excellence award recipient.
Brandon Leake
Brandon Leake is the season 15 winner of America’s Got Talent, plus he is an Award-Winning Spoken Word Poet, Artistic Educator, and Motivational Speaker from Stockton, Ca. His creative mixture of art, charisma, and passion tailored to his own unique personal narrative has taken him across the world as a speaker and performer. Performing in locations such as New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, and 36 states around the country for his, “Dark Side Tour” which promotes his first ever published poetry chapbook and his crown jewel “Deficients: A Tale From My Dark Side” an album rooted in transparency and healing. Brandon is also the founder and CEO of Called To Move - CTM an artistry organization with the pursuit of aiding youth in self-actualizing and personally developing through the art of poetry.
"Once upon a time, in the land of hills and water and bridges, there lived a band of local folk who loved storytelling. They loved to hear tales told and to tell tales of their own. This society of storytellers traveled far and wide to gather together with the multitudes and be regaled with stories of all kinds.
One day, an idea was hatched. Why not bring the stories to their very own shire? Their land was pleasing to the eye and had many who would enjoy hearing and telling stories. And so it began, a Festival in the West, a gathering that grew and grew. What started as a day grew to three and what began as a first became thirty Festivals over many, many years. Word spread of the event and soon crowds from throughout the land, from all directions, came to hear and to learn from the greatest of the bards.
The society of storytellers was pleased as the festival grew beyond their wildest dreams. But, alas, the society eventually grew weary, as the festival required the work of many and at times there were only a few. There came a day when the festival bid adieu to the land of hills and water and bridges. The group was pleased with what they had done,but could no longer carry the torch onward.
Then, darkness fell upon the land and the people were made to stay in their homes, to cover their faces and could gather together o more. Stories were still told, but tellers were distant and spoke to the people from small windows, while the folk sat in their homes. This went on for some time and the people grew restless. Slowly, after a year and many months, the darkness started to lift. The folk ventured out of their abodes and the tellers stepped out of their rectangular confinement.
It was at this moment, while caught up in the joy of the fading darkness, that a certain storytelling lass decreed, “Let us bring back the festival!” The cry was echoed throughout the land and soon plans were afoot to once again assemble in the West. It was decided to gather in the spring, at a manor in the village known as Santa Rosa.
And so the story continues..."