Cincinnati’s favorite storytelling event is returning for its fifth iteration. Three nationally recognized storytellers will take center stage next week in a new festival venue: historic Over-the-Rhine’s Know Theatre. Bil Lepp, Charlotte Blake Alston, and Paul Strickland will delight audiences young and old over three days of live storytelling once again.
The festival’s first events, “Gather Round” and “Twisted Tales,” have sold out the last two years, so it is recommended to secure advance tickets. Friday night’s shows include “Laugh Riot!”, a short dinner break, and then the much-anticipated ghost story show “Spooky Stories.” Who says spooky season ends October 31st?
Saturday will include a wide variety of programming, starting with a free show for children and families, and then a guest performance featuring the best of True Theatre. “Old Tales Told New” will feature masterful and entertaining reimagining of age-old stories, and the closing show “My Favorite Stories!” is sure to delight and entertain.
No stories are repeated, so come to as many shows as you like and enjoy them all. Most shows are for adults and children ages 13 and up, with the exception of the Saturday afternoon show which is specifically offered for children and families.
FESTIVAL HISTORY
The Cincinnati Storytelling Festival, founded in 2020, is a weekend event featuring professional storytellers from a variety of backgrounds and traditions. Previously held on Cincinnati’s West Side, the festival brings communities together to enjoy fairy tales, scary stories, laugh-out-loud tales, and everything in between! Over the past four festivals, nationally-recognized storytellers have entertained Cincinnati audiences, including Lyn Ford, Sheila Arnold, Adam Booth, Megan Hicks, Antonio Rocha, and Andy Offutt-Irwin. For the fifth festival, Artistic Director Paul Strickland is bringing back West Virginia storyteller Bil Lepp for a second appearance and introducing Charlotte Blake Alston, whose brilliant tales have graced stages for over 30 years.
THE 2026 STORYTELLERS
BIL LEPP
Bil Lepp is an award-winning storyteller, author, and recording artist. He’s the host of the History Channel’s Man Vs History series, the occasional host of NPR’s internationally syndicated Mountain Stage, and a contributing columnist to the West Virginia Gazette-Mail. Bil’s humorous, family friendly tall-tales and stories have earned the appreciation of listeners of all ages and from all walks of life. Though a five time champion of the West Virginia Liars’s Contest, Lepp’s stories often contain morsels of truth which present universal themes in clever and witty ways. Audiences all across the country, from grade schools to corporate execs to the Comedy Central’s Hudson stage, have been delighted by Bil’s hilarious tales and delightful insights into everyday life. leppstorytelling.com
CHARLOTTE BLAKE ALSTON
For more than 30 years, Charlotte Blake Alston has graced stages in venues throughout North America and abroad including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian Institution, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Symphony Orchestra Narrations and at regional, national and international storytelling festivals. She is a frequent guest artist in universities, grade schools, museums and cultural arts institutions around the country but this former elementary school teacher also presents in Day Care Centers, for Special Needs populations as well as prisons and youth detention centers. Charlotte breathes life into traditional and contemporary stories from African and African American oral and cultural traditions. charlotteblakealston.com
PAUL STRICKLAND, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND FOUNDER
Paul is a professional storyteller and theatre artist who lives in Covington, Kentucky, and a familiar performer at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival over the past decade. He has more than seven hours of unique, family-friendly stories in his repertoire, including reupholstered folk tales, fairytales for adults and future adults, tall-tales and even historical stories that just happen to have never happened. Paul has been a featured teller at the National Storytelling Festival, the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, and many more major storytelling festivals across the U.S. ainttrue.com
FESTIVAL SCHEDULE AND TICKETS
BOX OFFICE HOURS: 11am-5pm Tue-Friday | 513.300.5669
ORDER TICKETS ONLINE: https://www.cincystoryfest.com/buy-tickets
Full Weekend Pass: $60
Friday Pass: $38
Saturday Pass: $45
Single Show Tickets: $20
Ratings: All shows are recommended ages 13+ unless otherwise noted.
THURSDAY, NOV. 13, 2025
“Gather Round” at 7pm (60 min.) $20
“Twisted Tales” at 8:15pm (75 min.) $20
FRIDAY, NOV. 14, 2025
“Laugh Riot!” at 6pm (60 min.) $20
Dinner break from 7-8:30pm
“Spooky Stories” at 8:30pm (75 min.) $20
SATURDAY, NOV. 15, 2025
Special Family Event
“Children’s Stories” at 2pm (50 min.) FREE
Main Events
“True Theatre” at 4:30pm (60 min.) $20
“Old Tales Told New” at 5:45pm (60 min.) $20
Dinner break from 6:45-8:15pm
“My Favorite Stories!” at 8:15pm (95 min.) $20
LOCATION
Know Theatre – in the heart of OTR – 1120 Jackson St. Cincinnati OH 45202
Entrance just off 12th St. on Jackson (between Walnut & Vine)