The eighth Annual Heartland Storytelling Festival will be held at Homestead National Monument of America May 4-5, 2006. All sessions are open to the public and free of charge. Daytime sessions are dedicated to school groups, but all listeners are welcome. The times for the daytime sessions are 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. The evening concert at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 5 at the monument is especially designed to appeal to adults and children. The stories told during the daytime performances are not the same as the Friday evening programs. All stories are geared to the family. Active listeners in the audience will enjoy a variety of tales. Recharge your batteries with stories told with energy and wit. Sallie Pfeifer has told stories for 20 years. She tells tales of long ago of life on the prairie, pioneer legends, tales of the prairie and traveling the Oregon Trail. Rosie Cutrer uses her experience of 23 years as an elementary school teacher and theater participant to bring her stories to life. Music is used to share stories of pioneer life. Steve Otto has a repertoire of over 450 stories. His tales are geared to the age of the audience and will delight all ages. Seating is limited for the daytime sessions at the monument, so teachers are encouraged to call and reserve their sessions now for their classes. The evening concert on Friday, May 9 at 7:00 p.m. will be under a tent at the monument. Visitors are encouraged to dress appropriately for the weather. Audiences are encouraged to interact with performers throughout the festival. Homestead National Monument of America is located four miles west of Beatrice, Nebraska, on State Highway 4. All programs are free of charge. The monument is administered by the National Park Service. For more information, call 402-223-3514 or check out the web site at www.nps.gov/home. Hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays and 9:00 to 5:00 p.m. on weekends.
