Remembering Timpanogos

In the rush of getting home to deal with Hurricane Dorian, I have failed to say very much about the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival.  We were at Timpanogos when the news of the hurricane arrived and those lovely people cared for us with love and concern.

This was the thirtieth anniversary year for the Timpanogos Festival.  After outgrowing three locations, the Festival is now permanently settled in the amazingly gorgeous fifty-five acre Ashton Gardens, located at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah.  Lehi is less than an hour south of Salt Lake City making the Gardens themselves a wonderful escape outing apart from the Festival.

Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point.

The line-up for this Thirtieth Anniversary Festival was outstanding,  I got to be there with Anne Rutherford, Bil Lepp, Motoko, Simon Brooks, Sheila Starks Phillips, Andy Hedges, Tim Lowry, Antonio Rocha, Carmen Deedy, Beth Ohlsson, and Barbara McBride-Smith as well as twenty-four Youth Tellers who kicked off most hours with their own stories.

Gathering in the Garden Amphitheatre for the evening Storytelling concert.

Since Utah is such a family centered culture, the Festival includes a lot of music around the edges and even puppetry and crafts like pottery making for the kids who need a break from listening.  The evening concerts in the Garden Amphitheatre also begin with a musical pre-show.

On Sunday morning, when the Festival is all over, the tellers are invited to go with several festival committee members up to Salt Lake City to the Mormon Tabeenacle Choir weekly television broadcast, Music and the Spoken Word. This is the longest running broadcast event in the world, having started on the radio in 1929 and now running on more than 2,000 television and radio outlets world wide.   After this beautiful event, we all get to have a final brunch together before everyone departs for home.  This was a perfect send off for us on our way back to our little island.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra performing at Temple Square.

If you are looking for a storytelling festival adventure to remember, check out the Timpanogos Festival.  It is the weekend after Labor Day each year.