Sandbar Storytelling Festival announces their 2026 schedule
Celebrating its fifth consecutive season, the Sandbar Storytelling Festival is excited to announce its lineup of storytellers for 2026. This year, tellers have come from around the world to share their stories and music with festival attendees. The festival runs from Oct. 7-11, with six storytellers presenting at Winona schools, churches, theaters, and local establishments. Passes and tickets are available now at sandbarstorytellingfestival.or
The purpose of the festival is to present storytelling performances that celebrate and preserve the power and pleasure of our varied cultural traditions and human experiences and to promote the art of storytelling for all ages. Taff Roberts, founding artistic director, reminds us that “through storytelling, we share our identities, and by active listening, we engage with people who are different than us.”
With sets like “Tales, Tunes, & Ales” and “Afternoon at the ARC,” the full slate of storytelling events by nationally and internationally known storytellers are sure to make you laugh, learn, and celebrate our shared humanity.
The 2026 Storytellers
Daniel Morden – Since 1989, Daniel Morden has travelled the world, telling traditional tales. His repertoire ranges from profound Greek myths to magical fairy tales, thrilling adventures to absurd nonsense. He has performed at the National Theatre, Sydney Writers Festival, The National Storytelling Festival of America, The Getty Centre, many theatres, festivals, and thousands of schools. In 2017, he was awarded the Hay Festival Medal for services to storytelling. BBC Radio 3 says “to experience Daniel Morden in full flight is an amazing thing. He combines the skills of the troubadour, the actor, the bard, the standup comedian, and the preacher in the pulpit. One of the UK’s greatest storytellers.”
Jasmin Cardenas – Jasmin Cardenas is a bridge builder and believes in the power of stories to unite us. She has told stories to thousands of children, families, and adult audiences all over the world including at the National Storyteller Festival in Jonesborough, Tenn.; Timpanogos – Utah; Bay Area Storytelling Festival – Calif.; Midland – Texas; and Saint Louis Storytelling Festival – Mo.; as well as has been featured on the Apple Seed Podcast. Her album, “Cuentos from the Americas,” won the Storytelling World Award. Travel through the Americas through stories, music, and unique instruments — available on her website, www.JasminCardenas.com. One of the first Latina’s to receive The Race Bridges Storytelling Fellowship,Cardenas uses storytelling and theater to pursue justice and uplift humanity. A proud Actress and SAG-AFTRA member, her TV credits include NBC’s “Chicago Fire,” Showtime’s “The CHI,” and ABC’s “Betrayal”.
The Rev. Robert B. Jones Sr. – A returning storyteller from season 2022 and 2025, the Rev. Robert B. Jones Sr., of Detroit, has been a professional musician and storyteller for more than 40 years. He has been a pastor for more than 20 years and has been a nationally recognized storyteller for more than 15. His speaking and musical skills educate, entertain, and inspire. At the heart of his message is the belief that our cultural diversity tells a story that we should celebrate, not just tolerate. Truly authentic and one of a kind, the Rev. Jones is a talented songwriter and storyteller and has the ability to play multiple instruments, combined with the fact he is an award-winning educator and has encyclopedic knowledge of the history of African American folk music, including blues, spiritual, and slave songs.
Lynette Ford – Lynette Ford is a teller of folktales and stories rooted in her family’s Black Appalachian narrative traditions; an award-winning author and published poet, who has shared, live or online, in Australia, Germany, India, Ireland, and across the United States; an Ohio teaching artist; a certified laughter yoga teacher and laughter wellness ambassador; and a great-grandmother. Her poetry has appeared in several anthologies, including ”Callaloo: Black Appalachia Issue” and on the Poets Against Racism and Hate USA website. She is also a Black Appalachian Storytelling Fellow and the recipient of a National Association of Black Storytellers Zora Neale Hurston Award.
Kevin Kling – Kevin Kling is an award-winning storyteller, playwright, and solo performer whose work blends humor, emotional honesty, and deep human connection. Named Minneapolis Story Laureate in 2014 and often called a “Minnesota State Treasure,” Kling first gained national recognition with his landmark solo play 21A and later reached millions through NPR’s “All Things Considered.” A beloved voice on the storytelling circuit, Kling has been a featured teller at major festivals across the country, including the National Storytelling Festival, Timpanogos, Sandbar, Athens, Azalea, Cave Run, Sounds of the Mountains, Sierra and more. Known for his gentle wisdom and deep love of everyday stories, he creates performances that celebrate family, resilience, and connection.
Dovie Thomason – Dovie Thomason imagines herself as a river, fed by many streams — Lakota, Apache, and Scot Traveller ancestry, urban Chicago, rural Texas, and international travels, the internet and Indigenous elders, family teachings, kitchen table wisdom, and university classrooms — and she draws on those contrasts and cultures in her work. When she adds personal stories and untold histories, the result is a contemporary narrative of Indigenous history and identity in North America told with elegance, wit, and passion. She has been featured at the Kennedy Center, National Museum of the American Indian, the Smithsonian, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, and festivals around the world.
Terry Visger – Terry Visger is an educator and storyteller and has told stories all her life, although her mom called it lying. She has been a professional storyteller since 2000 and tells tales to all ages from preschoolers to adults. She presents workshops on using storytelling as a tool for teachers, businesses, and organizations. Visger has been a member of the La Crosse Storytelling Festival steering committee since its inception and is currently on the board of two storytelling organizations. This year, she is with the Sandbar Storytelling Festival as the master of ceremonies, as well as previously performing in Winona at Café Congo in March.
This year’s festival:
Wednesday, Oct. 7
8 p.m., “Tales, Tunes, & Ales with Reverend Jones” at Two Fathoms Brewery, 65 East Front St., Winona; free event, limited seating
Thursday, Oct. 8
7 p.m., “Desserts & Daniel Morden” at The ARC, 255 Main St., Winona; $40, fundraising event; limited seating
Friday, Oct. 9
1 p.m., “Afternoon at the ARC featuring Jasmin Cardenas & Dovie Thomason” at The ARC, 255 Main St., Winona; $25; featuring Thomason’s rendition of Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring”
7 p.m., “SSF featuring Kevin Kling, Reverend Jones, Daniel Morden, and Lynette Ford” featuring this year’s storytellers at Saint Mary’s University’s Page Theater, 700 Terrace Heights; ticket or pass required; $35 general, $5 students
Saturday, Oct.10
10 a.m., “SSF featuring Kevin Kling & Jasmin Cardenas” at Saint Mary’s University’s Page Theater, 700 Terrace Heights, Winona; ticket or pass required; $20 general, $5 students
1 p.m., “SSF featuring Daniel Morden, Dovie Thomason, Reverend Jones, and Lynette Ford” at Saint Mary’s University’s Page Theater, 700 Terrace Heights, Winona; ticket or pass required; $30 general, $5 students
7 p.m., “Six On Saturday” featuring all six of this year’s storytellers at Saint Mary’s University’s Page Theater, 700 Terrace Heights, Winona; ticket or pass required; $35 general, $5 students
Sunday, Oct. 11
10 a.m., Daniel Morden at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, located at Wesley United Methodist Church, 114 West Broadway, Winona; free event
2 p.m., Lynette Ford at the First Congregational Church of Winona, 161 West Broadway; freewill offering taken at the door
Storytellers present different stories at each session throughout the festival.
A Two-Day Pass (Friday evening and all Saturday events) is $90; $15 for students. A Saturday Pass (for all Saturday events) is $70; $10 for students. Student prices are for those ages 11-18 and college students with a valid ID.
To learn more about this year’s storytelling events and to purchase festival tickets or passes, go to www.sandbarstorytellingfestiva