Local StoryGroups

REGION 1: Northwest / Panhandle

[Freeport, Panama City, Pensacola, Tallahassee, Valparaiso]

Panama City

Storytellers at Bay
Contact: Adele Head, 3616 Oak Knoll Court, Panama City, FL 32408  850-230-5624 / adele@digitalexp.com

REGION 2: Northeast

[Daytona Beach, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Ocala, St. Augustine]

Gainesville

Gainesville Story Group
Contact: Ann Scroggie,
2000 SW 79th Drive, Gainesville, FL 32607 
352-332-6502 / a.scroggie@cox.net

Jacksonville

Beaches League of Storytellers
Contact: Holly Hamrick,
1820 Arden Way, Jacksonville, FL 32250 
904-246-8976 / russell.hamrick@comcast.net

Mostly tellers! That’s what comprises the majority of the membership from The Beaches League of Storytellers. That means a lot of stories to listen to from this StoryGroup located in the Jacksonville Beach area.

Even so, the Beaches League has such an excellent reputation that the group’s main problem is finding tellers who can fulfill all the requests of those calling upon the membership. Churches, schools and senior centers have benefited from their outstanding stories. In 2006 they participated in their first Tellabration, presented at the same library where their group was featured at the library’s opening the year before.

Twenty-three years young, the Beaches League of Storytellers boasts twenty current members. One thing that makes the League unique is the annual story theme. Each year the Executive Committee chooses a yearly theme, and that theme forms a thread that weaves though the members’ stories over the next nine months.

This group likes to promote the art of storytelling through workshops conducted by outsiders or their own members. Currently they rely on donations for their programs, but feel that FSA could help them reach a professional level, at which point they could actually charge for their work.

The Beaches League of Storytellers meets one Saturday a month, September through May, at the Ponte Vedra Beach Library, 101 Library Boulevard, Ponte Vedra, Florida, at 10:30 a.m. The contact for the Beaches League, Nancy Avera, can be reached at 904-285-1238. Anyone who is in the area on the right Saturday can catch the Beaches League members as they weave their stories through themes that enhance the art of storytelling in Jacksonville Beach.

Northside Storytellers League
Contact: Catherine Warren,
1208 Ribault River Drive, Jacksonville, FL 32208

Founded in 1989, the Northside Storytellers in Jacksonville, Florida, are going strong with twenty-five members. Some are active tellers, while others support the group with refreshments and administrative work. Their uniqueness lies in their ability to go beyond the normal storytelling audiences of churches, senior centers and schools. Northside members have reached out to prison inmates and to children who are reading below grade level, and have presented workshops at Literacy Fairs.

Like most story enthusiasts, the Northside Storytellers like the idea of promoting the art of storytelling for fun and healing. In the summer of 2006 they told stories at thirteen libraries. That’s a busy group! If you like beans, then you should not miss the annual Bean Soup and Stories, held each November at a local Methodist Church. A dedicated soup maker spends hours in the church kitchen producing ten gallons of soup to serve, with bread and stories, for a large crowd to enjoy.

Northside is proud of the support its members give to one another. All the money earned through events, donations and a small dues fee goes to the treasury. The members plan to challenge themselves in the near future by tackling a grant proposal. They love Story Camp and feel that the Board members have created an environment of helpfulness and information giving. Right now, they are working hard to put their history in writing, creating a record so that all who follow this dynamic group can learn from their dedication to the art of storytelling.

Mary Webster is the contact for the group. She can be reached at: 904-786-1948. The Northside Storytellers meet at the Dunn Avenue Branch Library in Jacksonville on the third Saturday of the month, from 10:30 a.m to noon, September through May.

Storytellers League of Jacksonville
Contact: Althea Fowler,
1331 Griflet Road, Jacksonville, FL 32211
904-743-0629

Ocala

Ocali Storytellers Guild
Contact: Taryn Evans,
15620 SE 150th Street, Weirsdale, FL 32195
652-821-0298 / terevans@comcast.net

St. Augustine

Tale Tellers of St. Augustine
Contact: Terri McConnell, 
PO Box 1343, St. Augustine, FL 32085
904-829-6274 / terrmac@aug.com

Volusia County

Sandcastle Storytellers
Contact: Jeanne Mentor,
210 W. Fern Drive, Orange City, FL 32763 
386-775-6756 / gia184@aol.com

REGION 3: Central

[Clearwater, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Tampa]

Casselberry

Storytellers of Central Florida
Contact: Robin Schulte, 
3531 Wading Heron Terrace, Oviedo, FL 32766
407-977-2917 / rrschulte@msn.com

Melbourne

Voices of Story Guild
Contact: Ada Forney
321-259-3822 / PenNInc@aol.com

You just never know when a story group will be born; the Voices of Story know that well. When Ada Forney taught a class in storytelling at a community college in Palm Bay a while back, some folks became so interested that they spent the next six weeks forming the constitution and by-laws that would set the foundation for a dynamite group. Ten members strong, including some snowbirds, the Voices of Story do a variety of programs. They can be found telling at libraries and historic houses, as well as for Civil War Programs, Halloween, and other holidays. They even boast a First Place trophy, given to one of their members at Murphreesboro, TN.

Working with well known causes, such as “Give Kids the World,” in their Tellabration programs, and in presentations to business organizations such as the Harris Corporation, the Voices of Story are always up for a new and challenging audience. They would like to see FSA build more bridges and create stronger foundations between FSA and the local story groups. They would like to see more story groups working as teams.

The contact person for Voices of Story, Ada Forney, can be reached at: 321-259-3822. The group meets at the Melbourne Square Mall Community Room at 7 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays of the month. On library concert nights they meet at 7:30. For more information, request a copy of the Voices of Story brochure that outlines their mission statement and goals and provides a history of their performances over the years.

This group could show up anywhere, so watch out, story listeners…the Voices are coming.

Tampa

Tampa Bay Storytellers Guild
Contact: Bettylou Rosen, 
1313 Woodstock Dr., Palm Harbor, FL 34684
727-785-3041 / Rosen1@yahoo.com

REGION 4: Southwest / The Keys

[Fort Myers, Key West, Naples, Sarasota, Venice]

Sanibel

Tamiami Tale Tellers
Contact: Leila Griffin, 
610 Gladiola St., Immokalee, FL 34142

Venice

Gulf Coast Storytelling Alliance 
Contact: Patty Cloward
941-475-6076 / mermaid4@verizon.net

REGION 5: Southeast

[Fort Lauderdale, Fort Pierce, Miami, Palm Beach]

Boca Raton

Palm Beach County Storytelling Guild
Contact: Caren Neile,
49 SW 9th Terrace, Boca Raton, FL 33486
561-390-4780 / carenina@bellsouth.net

The Palm Beach County Storytelling Guild is going strong and has a lot to offer the county and the state. Caren Neile founded the Guild in 2001. As director of the South Florida Storytelling Project at Florida Atlantic University, Neile was instrumental in bringing noted guest tellers to the young group, with Jim May attending the first meeting. Enthusiasm and motivation soon gathered momentum among those wanting to know more.

After “wandering” for a couple of years from libraries to condos, the group found a home at a used, new and rare bookstore that now serves as a home base. Starting with approximately ten members, the guild has grown under the leadership of Mij Byram. It now has twelve to twenty members at each meeting and over seventy who receive the bi-weekly email news and notices. Members include those who come just to listen, as well as tellers wanting to share personal histories and adventures of the road and the high seas. The Guild also has several professional tellers.

Currently the group does not charge dues (there are plans to apply for an FSA grant) but makes a small profit from Tellabration. This is the third year that a Tellabration concert has been held in Palm Beach County. Each year the audiences and the venues grow. The PBC Storytelling Guild has welcomed many wonderful tellers, most recently storyteller Olga Lloya.

The Guild encourages all members to join FSA as a great way to stay connected. Offering a yearly scholarship to FSA StoryCamp keeps morale high and creates a deeper understanding and appreciation of storytelling. In addition to their successful events and their dedication to the art of storytelling, the members have also participated in StoryCorps, a national story collecting initiative.

Member Wayne Hampton serves as photographer, and his efforts help to preserve the guild’s history through pictures of members and events. Contact person for the Palm Beach County Storytellers is Adele Alexandre, who can be reached at: 754-245-2564. Monthly meetings at 7:00 p.m. are usually held on the third Thursday of the month at Bookwise, 399 NE Spanish River Blvd. in Boca Raton.

Fort Lauderdale

Broward Storytellers Guild

Contact: Debbie Helminger
4905 SW 24th Avenue, Ft Lauderdale, FL 33312
954-966-6084 / helmonger@yahoo.com

“Just kind of doing it” probably describes the Broward Storytellers Guild. A mixture of tellers, hobbyists and listeners, this group maintains a busy schedule of events each year. The members show up for magical nights of “Moonlight Tales” at the Main Broward Library every April, drawing over three hundred children and adults. The Broward Storytellers were the first group to tell at “Moonlight Tales”. The “Teddy Bear Picnic” at the Helen B. Hoffman City of Plantation Library, where audiences of up to seventy-five people have enjoyed the stories, is also on their agenda. They can also be found at the City of Oakland Park Library each year, offering a Tellabration concert on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. If you visit them in January, you won’t want to miss their annual “Telling Around the Fire”, with a bonfire on the beach serving as the focus for some “warm” tales.

The Broward guild members enjoy FSA StoryLabs around the state and hope that FSA will continue to sponsor more. They love learning from the professionals and would also like to see more StoryGroups posting their events on the state website. The Broward Storytellers enjoy watching and helping new comers evolve into great storytellers. They have not applied for any grants, but may consider it in the future.

Jo Ellen Bridges founded the Broward Storytellers in 1990. Currently, their e-mail information letter goes out to over eighty people. Meetings usually draw between twelve and twenty attendees, with no formal membership required and no dues being charged. Meetings rotate among houses or sometimes are held in a public area. The contact for the group is Debbie Helmlinger. She can be reached at: 954-966-6084. Meetings are on the second or third Thursday of each month, starting at 7:30 p.m. Mailing address for the group is 4505 SW 24th Ave., Fort Lauderdale, FL. 33312.

Miami

Miami Storytellers Guild
Contact: Louise Gramling,
5801 Marius Street, Coral Gables, FL 33146 
305-662-1397 / gramlingm@aol.com 

North Palm Beach

Tattle Tales 
Contact: Diane Dumbaugh, 
892 Overbrook Pl, W. Palm Beach, FL 33413 
561-686-2760 / dmdumbaugh@bellsouth.net

Do you have a StoryGroup to add to our listings? Want to add a description to your StoryGroup’s entry? Let us know: