Exchange Place 2008

At Exchange Place, explore the diversity of American storytelling at this Friday evening concert featuring six tellers new to the festival stage. Exchange Place is a revered festival tradition where specially invited storytellers from across the country share their finest tales.

The Exchange Place event is included with your weekend admission, but has limited seating.

Arif Choudhury
Arif Choudhury is a Bangladeshi-American Muslim storyteller, filmmaker, and stand-up comic. He tells humorous stories about growing up in one of the few Bangladeshi-Muslim immigrant families in Chicago. Focusing on issues of ethnic and religious identity, assimilation, multiculturalism and diversity, he pokes fun at how we think about one another. Choudhury has performed at the Orcas StoryFest, the International School at Beijing, and JustStories Festival. When he isn't performing, he shoots documentary films and works as the managing partner of an accounting firm.

Alton Chung
Alton Chung grew up with the stories, superstitions, and magic of the Hawaiian Islands. Combined with his Japanese and Korean roots, this gave him a unique perspective for his telling of cultural tales. His repertoire includes traditional Asian folktales, ancient Hawaiian legends, ghost stories, personal stories, and true stories of the Japanese-Americans during WWII. Chung has appeared at the Bay Area and Talk Story Storytelling Festivals, and was awarded the first J.J. Reneaux Emerging Artist Award by the National Storytelling Network.  Photo by Minako Ishii.

Sylvia Yancy Davis
Sylvia Yancy Davis's love for stories began as a child as she listened to the greatest storyteller she has ever known, her grandfather. She now travels in Louisiana and beyond, spinning her tales to young and old alike at libraries, churches, conventions and festivals. Davis has received several awards for her acting and storytelling, and currently holds the title of "Master Liar" for the National Association of Black Storytellers. Davis has been an educator for more than 30 years, and is currently a secondary school vice principal.

Kindra Gayle McGrane
Kindra Gayle McGrane's quarter lifetime of hilarious tragedies, thwarting incidents, and delicate triumphs fuse with her ability to laugh at herself to create a fiery performance of personal tales. She started telling in her fifth grade classroom 16 years ago, and since then has been seen as a keynote speaker at the National Storytelling Network National Conference and as a youth teller at the National Storytelling Festival. McGrane now lives in Arizona, where she uses her passion for story full time as the Director of Marketing for Orenda International.

Temujin the Storyteller
A performer/educator since 1968, Temujin is also a lecturer, workshop developer, musician, and instrument maker. Described by the Shooting Star Review as "a voice that booms, squeaks, snorts [and] whoops," he presents a unique program of family oriented, audience-participatory storytelling, all done in the ancient tradition of the "itinerant African bard." His appearances include the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival, the International Children's Festival at Wolf Trap, and the International Street Performers Festival in Nova Scotia.

Kim Weitkamp
Storyteller, humorist and musician, Kim Weitkamp has shared her stories and songs at theaters and festivals throughout the U.S. For fifteen years, Weitkamp used the art of applied storytelling to work with at risk and in crisis youth. Four years ago she turned to the stage, and is now most noted for her original Pitscreek story series. She has three audio collections to her credit. Weitkamp is the founder of the Wrinkles Project, a national campaign to raise awareness for the value of the life stories of our elder communities.