Giants of storytelling set to descend on Brandywine festival

If you’ve never traveled to Halfdollar, W.Va., pull up your hip boots and wade right on in. But watch out for the falling rope-swingers, RVs without buffalo-proof roofs, and CS&X Monster Trains that comprise Bil Lepp's tales.

Lepp, a mainstay at the National Storytelling Festival and five-time West Virginia Liar's Champion, headlines next weekend's Lower Brandywine Storytelling Festival.

The two-day tell-all, to be held at Kennett Pike's Lower Brandywine Presbyterian Church, is among the most important events of it's kind on the East Coast – and that's no fable.

The free family-friendly event will feature four storytelling performances on Friday, beginning at 7 p.m. Then Saturday, four morning workshops start the day with children's performances and story samplers scheduled throughout. Four afternoon featurettes, an open mic for audience members, and a rollicking Saturday evening finale round out the festival.

"It's almost like having a set of very family-friendly comedians performing," said organizer Michael Wright. "Oftentimes there's a lesson or message in the story."

A very funny man, Lepp has been telling the tallest of tales for 15 years. He made his Delaware debut at the inaugural Lower Brandywine fest back in 2006.
Other performers include:

• Bill Harley. This two-time Grammy winner's songs are joyous, direct and honest, filled with the details of daily life from a slightly off-center point of view.
• Willy Clafin. His unhinged comedy often centers on his faithful sidekick and palmated pal, Maynard Moose, the only authentic North American Moose currently on the festival circuit.
• Kim Weitkamp. A captivating presence with a beautiful singing voice and impeccable comedic timing, her perfectly woven, heartwarming childhood stories can quickly careen off into the hilariously outrageous.
• Andy Offutt Irwin. Part Marx Brother, part mischievous schoolboy, part Southern balladeer. People are drawn to him like magnets to a refrigerator, and inside, it's all Mountain Dew and Jolt Cola.