Ray Bradbury Storytelling Festival Wins 2010 Highsmith Library Innovative Award

Oct. 12, 2010 - PRLog -- Waukegan’s annual Ray Bradbury Storytelling Festival started five years ago as a major project with a meager budget. Over the years, the event has captured so much attention that the Illinois Library Association (ILA) decided to honor the achievement. On Sept. 29, the ILA presented the 2010 Highsmith Library Innovative Award to the festival sponsor, the Waukegan Public Library. School and public libraries across Illinois competed for the award, sponsored by Highsmith Inc. and the Illinois Library Association.

“We followed Bradbury’s own advice, ‘You’ve got to jump off cliffs and build your wings on the way down,’” said Elizabeth Stearns, Assistant Director of Community Services. “At first, we were more confident in our ability to jump than to build.” Stearns traveled to Los Angeles to pitch the idea to Bradbury himself, who approved the festival under one condition. The event must take place around his favorite time of year, Halloween.

Using feedback from focus groups and an advisory committee, the library decided to hold two performances each year, a matinee for school kids and scary evening performance for teens and adults. The venue was an easy decision, says Stearns. A festival named after Bradbury must take place in his hometown, at the same theater that once held young Ray enthralled in its audience. The historic Genesee Theatre, renowned for its old-world glamor, provides an eerie backdrop for classic tales like Dracula and Something Wicked This Way Comes.

“The human imagination is well beyond anything Hollywood could ever come up with,” says Jim May, storyteller and festival emcee. “How many times do you hear people say they went to a movie but it wasn’t as good as the book?” May and the artistic director, Megan Wells, have performed at the Ray Bradbury Storytelling Festival every year since its inception. Both luminaries on the storytelling circuit, May and Wells hold numerous theater awards for storytelling, writing, acting and directing.

Each year, the festival spotlights a spooky theme such as “Literary Ghosts” or “Literary Villains.” For the 5th Annual Ray Bradbury Storytelling Festival, Friday, October 29, storytellers plan a surprising evening of “Literary Twists,” featuring tales by classic authors like Dickens and Bradbury, plus accounts of chilling spectral encounters that took place right at the Genesee Theatre.

“I send my heartfelt congratulations to all of you on your award,” said Bradbury in an email to Stearns. “You’ve done, and continue to do, an outstanding job with the Bradbury Storytelling Festival.”

Admission is $12 for the 7:30 p.m. performance, recommended for age 11 and older. For an extra $13, festival goers can also attend a pre-show party at 6 p.m. with all the tellers, including complimentary drinks and appetizers. Tickets are on sale now at the Genesee Theatre box office or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Doors will open to the public at 5:30 p.m. for an art exhibit in the Genesee Theatre lobby, featuring all the entries for the 27th Annual Ray Bradbury Creative Contest.  Richard Lee, Executive Director of the Waukegan Public Library, will announce the contest winners and hand out prize checks at 6 p.m.

To inquire about becoming a sponsor of the award-winning Ray Bradbury Storytelling Festival, call Linda Gfesser, Community Relations Coordinator, at (847) 623-2041, ext. 244.

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For 112 years, the Waukegan Public Library has provided the community with opportunities to learn, gather, be informed and entertained. The main library is located in downtown Waukegan at 128 N. County Street, just north of the County Building; the Hinkston Park Branch is located at 800 N. Baldwin, in the Waukegan Park District Field House. The library houses one of the largest collections of materials in Lake County. Free parking is provided at the downtown branch in the City of Waukegan parking garage, at the corner of County and Clayton. For more information, call (847) 623-2041, or visit www.waukeganpl.org.