Storytelling Festival and Liar’s Competition

📖✨ Stories, Spooks & Tall Tales at Hagood Mill! ✨📖

Mark your calendars for October 16–17, 2026, for the 25th Annual Storytelling Festival & Liar’s Competition at Hagood Mill Historic Site!

👻 Friday Night Frights & Ghost Stories kicks off the weekend on Friday, October 16 at 6:30 PM with spine-tingling tales and an unforgettable lineup:

• Lona Bartlett, MC
• Tim Lowry
• Walt Belcher
• Robin Kitson

Admission: $10 for ages 10+.

🎤 The festival continues Saturday, October 17, with a full day of stories, laughter, folklore, and tall tales! Saturday’s lineup includes:

• Johnny Thomas Fowler, MC
• Tim Lowry
• Andy Offutt Irwin
  • With a Silly Putty® voice, heart-fi lled humor, and world-class whistling, Andy has been described as a mischievous schoolboy meets the Marx Brothers with a touch of the Southern balladeer. He is especially known for relating the adventures of his eighty-fi ve-year-old, newly minted physician Aunt Marguerite Van Camp, who keeps her fi nger on the pulse of our changing world, as she seeks to grow – even at her advanced age – in the New South. Andy has received numerous awards, including the National Storytelling Network’s Oracle Circle of Excellence and a Special Congressional Recognition – for outstanding and invaluable service to the community – from the late Representative John Lewis.
• Walt Belcher
• Jean Laney Harris
  • From a tin shack in Guam to breaking barriers in energy engineering, Robin Kitson’s life has never seen a straight line. It’s been a pinballed ride of adventure! As the first female power plant electrician and four other energy engineering jobs, she educated folks and opened doors. She found her passion in storytelling at last! For 23 years, she has created word pictures, humor, and Cajun Stories that tickle folks and open minds. From schools to corporations to festivals, Robin can educate, motivate, or entertain. She can encounter a bumpy road or bland tomato and find a new story!

🏆 Think you can tell a whopper? The Liar’s Competition has spots for eight competitors to share their best “lies” or tall tales for the chance to be crowned Best Liar!

The winner will receive a $75 grand prize and a guaranteed spot on the storytelling stage at the 2027 event.

Liar’s Competition rules:

• Each storyteller has up to 8 minutes, with a one-minute grace period. Points are deducted after 8 minutes, and stories exceeding 9 minutes are disqualified.
• Contestants are judged on structure and flow, character, language, delivery and poise, emotional impact, and pacing and timing.
• Each category is scored from 1 to 5, with 1 being poor and 5 being excellent.

📧 Want to compete? Email [email protected] to sign up for the Liar’s Competition.

🪕 Enjoy historic demonstrations, crafts, vendors, food, and fun for the whole family.

Saturday admission: $7 for ages 10+
Friday & Saturday festival admission: $17 for ages 10+
Children 9 and under are free.

🎟️ Get your tickets:
https://visithagoodmill.com/stories

Come make memories, hear a few whoppers, and celebrate 25 years of storytelling at Hagood Mill!