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Bilingual Storyteller to Headline Annual WT Festival April 29
Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu
CANYON, Texas — An artist who pioneered multiculturalism in his work will headline the West Texas A&M University Storytelling Festival for 2022.
Joe Hayes, formerly the resident storyteller at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe, New Mexico, will perform at a 7 p.m. April 29 concert in the Branding Iron Theatre inside the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex on WT’s Canyon campus.
Admission is free.
Hayes also will conduct a storytelling workshop for students and the general public at 2 p.m. April 29 in Fine Arts Complex Room 176.
“Joe is a master at weaving stories that connect with all ages,” said Paula Schlegel, associate lecturer in communication and festival organizer. “His vocal animation and creative delivery transports listeners to other worlds and cultures, teaching us new ideas while connecting us with past events.”
The WT Storytelling Festival was founded in 1991 by Dr. Trudy Hanson, who retired in 2021 as head of WT’s Department of Communication.
Hayes also will perform for elementary school students in Pampa and Happy during his stay.
Hayes has spun tales for countless children around the country for more than 40 years.
He pioneered bilingual Spanish-English storytelling and has published more than 25 books, several written in both languages.
In 2005, he received the Talking Leaves Literary Award from the National Storytelling Network in recognition of his “considerable, serious and influential contribution to the literature of storytelling.”
For information on the festival, contact Schlegel at 806-570-3797 or pschlegel@wtamu.edu.
Fostering an appreciation for the arts is a vital component of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.
That plan is fueled by the historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign. To date, the five-year campaign — which publicly launched Sept. 23 — has raised about $110 million.
About West Texas A&M University
WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of about 10,000 and offers 59 undergraduate degree programs, more than 35 master’s degrees and two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.
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