Flatwater Tales Returns to Oak Ridge
May 24, 2026

OAK RIDGE, TN - Flatwater Tales returns to Oak Ridge June 5-6 for its 10th anniversary, bringing four storytellers whose tales will inspire listeners to learn, feel, laugh, and cry, “sometimes all at the same time,” according to the festival’s founders.

Most of this year’s Flatwater Tales will take place at the Oak Ridge Conference Center, located at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike. The Saturday, June 6, final performance will bring storytellers together with the Oak Ridge Civic Music Association for the first time to present “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – 250 Years of America’s Stories” at 7 p.m. at the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center, located at 1450 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The storytellers, who have all appeared at the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, Tenn., are:

• Bil Lepp, an award-winning storyteller, author, recording artist, and History Channel host, spins hilarious, family-friendly tall tales and stories. Though a five-time champion of the West Virginia Liar’s Contest, he tells stories that often contain morsels of truth, presenting universal themes in clever and witty ways. Lepp has performed at every Flatwater Tales.

• Josh Goforth, who plays nearly 20 musical instruments, returns to the Tales to entertain with foot-stomping music accompanying stories from his Appalachian roots. Goforth, who learned to play the piano by the age of 4, has toured with a variety of ensembles, including David Holt and the Steep Canyon Rangers. He has appeared at the Grand Ole Opry, the Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall.

• Elizabeth Ellis, a first-time storyteller at the Flatwater Tales, delivers down-home wisdom in a southern style, filled with hilarious and poignant honesty. Listeners say hers is a voice that finds the heart and the funny bone, riveting her audiences. More than half a million children have been mesmerized by her stories, and adults have fallen under her spell as well.

• Sheila Arnold, a master storyteller for more than 20 years, returns to Oak Ridge with a historic character presentation, bringing Ole Bess back to life from 1776 to talk about freedom. Arnold, who has been telling stories since age 8, offers historical storytelling, creative writing workshops, motivational speeches, and professional development for educators through her company, History’s Alive!

Each show is unique, as storytellers will perform different stories at each event, beginning at 10 a.m. Friday, June 5, when Elizabeth Ellis offers a 35-minute program, “Taste of the Tales." Storytelling continues at 3 p.m. Friday when Bil Lepp presents another “Taste of the Tales” at 3 p.m.

Three storytellers, Ellis, Lepp, and Goforth, will present tales at 7 p.m. on June 5 and again at 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 6 at the Oak Ridge Conference Center. For the finale at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Oak Ridge High School, all three storytellers and ORCMA will combine stories and music for a first-of-its-kind event at Flatwater Tales celebrating America’s 250th anniversary.

Another special event will be Sheila Arnold’s historic character presentation focused on America’s 250th anniversary at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, June 6. She was an artist-in-residence at the prestigious McDowell Artist Colony in New Hampshire in 2021, where she crafted the moving story of the Scarboro 85, “The Secret City’s Secret City: Scarboro.” That story details the 85 students from Oak Ridge’s Scarboro neighborhood who were the first to desegregate a public school system in the southeast in 1955. She presented this commissioned story in Oak Ridge in 2022 and 2024 thanks to a Tennessee Arts Commission grant.

New to the Flatwater Tales will be a Homegrown Tellers Contest at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 6, hosted by Bil Lepp. Audience members are invited to support and vote on their favorite local tellers, each spinning a five-minute tale in the competition.

Oak Ridge Historian Ray Smith will once again offer his free Historic Tour of Oak Ridge for both visitors here for the festival and residents from 9-11 a.m. on Saturday. Tour-goers will meet at the International Friendship Bell in Bissell Park and ring the bell before the tour. Participants are asked to register for the tour at the ticket site, as space is limited.

Tickets may be purchased at the Flatwater Tales website at flatwatertales.com.

A $60 weekend pass includes entrance to all seven shows, plus the American Museum of Science and Energy, the Oak Ridge History Museum, and the Oak Ridge Art Center, all within walking distance of Flatwater Tales. Individual tickets to the three shows featuring three tellers each, Sheila Arnold’s historical character show, and the Homegrown Tellers tales are $15 each for adults and $5 for children. Individual tickets for the Taste of the Tales programs are $5 each.

Proceeds from the storytelling festival are returned to the community. Oak Ridge Rotary Clubs are the event sponsor and will provide funds for community support services.

For more information, visit flatwatertales.com. The Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival is generously supported by its sponsors Consolidated Nuclear Security – Y-12 National Security Complex, Pinnacle Financial Partners, and Explore Oak Ridge. The event is led by community volunteers, including volunteers from the Breakfast, Noon, and Sunset Rotary Clubs in Oak Ridge.