Storytelling festival

Tomorrow morning the fourth annual Cape Girardeau Storytelling Festival kicks off.

This year's festival will host several nationally recognized storytellers, and hundreds of eager listeners are expected to attend from Southeast Missouri and 15 other states.

The festival, an affordable attraction with adult weekend passes running $35, begins at 9 a.m. on Friday and runs through Sunday afternoon. Locations include tents on the River Campus terrace and next to the Red House on Main Street.

A few of this year's storytellers include:

* Bill Lepp of Charleston, W.Va., a humorist, whose style has been compared to that of comedians Jeff Foxworthy and Bill Cosby.

* Willy Claflin of San Francisco, who attended Harvard, turned folk singer and now focuses on storytelling and puppeteer.

* Elizabeth Ellis of Dallas, a former librarian turned professional storyteller.

* The Rev. Robert Jones, of Detroit, whose accomplishments include opening for B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt and John Lee Hooker.

Reading and listening to stories is an opportunity to use your imagination. At a time when television has replaced reading in far too many homes, consider embracing this weekend's storytelling festival. For more information, go to www.capestorytelling.com or call the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau at 573-335-1631.