A Conversation with Lisa Overholser, Director of the St. Louis Storytelling Festival

The St. Louis Storytelling Festival, established in 1980, has successfully engaged over 18,000 individuals annually, including 15,000 school students from pre-K to grade 12, through its school and public programs. The festival's outreach extends to prisons, youth detention centers, and hospitals, demonstrating its broad accessibility and impact on diverse communities. Hosted at UNESCO World Heritage Sites like Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site and other significant venues, the festival leverages storytelling as a tool for community education and economic development, aligning with its land-grant mission through the University of Missouri Extension's Community Arts Program.

Senehi. (2020). A Conversation with Lisa Overholser, Director of the St. Louis Storytelling Festival. Storytelling, Self, Society, 16(1), 126. https://doi.org/10.13110/storselfsoci.16.1.0126