GETTYSBURG – Storyteller Linda Goss will present an uplifting, hand-clapping, foot-stomping presentation of “Can’t Tell a Lie, Peach Cobbler Pie” at the Gettysburg Campus of HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 22, in the Robert C. Hoffman Community Room.
Her performance, which is free and open to the public, is part of the Fringe Folk Festival sponsored by Adams County Arts Council and is promoted in conjunction with the Gettysburg Fringe Festival 2010.
Goss, who is Commonwealth Speaker for the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the Official Storyteller for the City of Philadelphia, was born near the Great Smoky Mountains and grew up listening to the storytelling of her grandfather, father, mother, aunts and uncles, from whom she learned a heritage of family folklore, oral history and legends.
She listened to stories about ethical values, courtship, and the civil rights struggle in Tennessee. She participated in play party songs, hand clap rhymes and ring games. Stories from personal experience, and hundreds of folktales that she has gathered over decades of serious study and performance, are now in her repertoire.
During her performances, Goss demonstrates how chants and rhythms are used to enhance a story, while percussionist Ed Stokes plays home-made stringed instruments. A variety of easy-to-play musical instruments are available for audience members to use. Participants also are encouraged to share a family tale, recall a favorite rhyme or join in a hand-clapping game.
Goss has a bachelor’s degree in drama from Howard University and a master’s degree in education from Antioch University. She is co-founder of “In the tradition…,” the National Black Storytelling Festival, and is a recipient of the Oracle Lifetime Achievement Award, National Storytelling Network. She has published six books, including “Talk That Talk,” which includes the Peach Cobbler Pie story, and has made several recordings for the Smithsonian Folkways archival series.
Her presentation at HACC is a program of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities and its We the People initiative. The Pennsylvania Humanities Council, a nonprofit organization, inspires individuals to enjoy and share a life of learning.
HACC-Gettysburg Campus is located at 731 Old Harrisburg Road, near Weis Markets and Adams County National Bank. For more information about HACC call 717-337-3855.
