Great stories

The first-ever Cape Girardeau Storytelling Festival has come and gone, and it appears to have been a hit.

Organizers who put so much effort into the planning and execution of the three-day event deserve most of the credit for pulling it off. Having expert storytellers on hand gave audiences a taste of what storytelling is all about. And they liked it.

Already there have been suggestions for tweaking the festival, and those involved in making those plans surely will consider these ideas and use any that make the festival better.

One suggestion -- ticket prices for each storytelling session instead of one ticket for the entire three days -- has been made frequently. But $20 for the high caliber of performances offered in Cape Girardeau is a tremendous bargain, even if you only attend one or two of the session. The national storytelling festival in Tennessee charges $125.

One other suggestion that may get serious consideration is making time in the schedule of storytelling events to allow visitors to Cape Girardeau's downtown to take advantage of the shopping and historic places of interest, plus Riverfront Park is the Mississippi River is behaving itself. April is a dicey month for rain and potential flooding.

All in all, the storytellers were great, and the audiences left with a good feeling. What more could you ask? Keep up the good work, festival organizers.