The 2008 Buffalo Commons Storytelling Festival will take place on May 30 and 31 at various locations throughout the City of McCook. The festival is made possible, in part, by Nebraska Humanities Council grant funds.

This year's event will feature Barbara McBride-Smith, who will be making her third appearance in the festival's 11-year history. Smith has performed at hundreds of festivals and conferences across the U.S. and has been featured at the National Storytelling Festival in Tennessee seven times, as well as the National Festival of Homiletics and the International Storytelling Festival in Washington D.C. Her international travels include performances in Greece and Turkey.

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Sharing the stage with McBride Smith will be Andy Offutt Irwin. Irwin, a native of Covington, Ga., has a background in standup comedy, but has added music and storytelling to his repertoire and performs at festivals, theatres and schools throughout the United States, including two appearances as a Featured Teller at the National Storytelling Festival. He has been a Teller in Residence at International Storytelling Center; a Guest Artist at La Guardia High School of Art, Music, and Performing Arts in New York (The "FAME!" School) and he has been a Keynote Speaker/Performer at the Library of Congress-Virburnum Foundation Conference on Family Literacy.

For the 2008 musical headliner, Buffalo Commons has chosen the Boulder Acoustic Society, comprised of an eclectic assortment of Colorado musicians who create, according to their web site, "Shredding guitar licks, soaring gypsy violin, a little ukulele and the thump of an old time bass bounce around with a jazz accordion and creative percussion to create a new sound. It is American Roots music with the edge of punk rock and the grace of chamber music."

The Buffalo Commons Storytelling Festival is the beneficiary of one of many grants funded by the Nebraska Humanities Council (NHC), which awards more than $100,000 in grants each year. Created in 1973 as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Nebraska Humanities Council (NHC) is an independent, non-profit organization governed by a volunteer board of public and academic members.

The Nebraska Humanities Council funds programs that explore Nebraska's heritage, build community awareness, and strengthen ties to cultural traditions at home and abroad.

Any non-profit group is eligible to apply for a grant from the NHC and the NHC staff is available for grant consultation and to read proposal drafts. Interested parties are encouraged to contact the NHC office for assistance with project ideas.

A copy of Nebraska Humanities Council grant guidelines is available online at www.nebraskahumanities.org.

Buffalo Commons Storytelling Festival:

http://www.buffalocommons.org/