Specialty: Appalachian & Traditional Tales
Throughout her trailblazing storytelling career, Connie helped to ignite and shape the American storytelling revival. She served as a founding board member of the National Storytelling Association (formerly NAPPS) and is a frequent host and featured performer at the National Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. Connie’s rare talent has transformed convention halls into wondrous landscapes and turned packed theaters into intimate circles of friends. She has performed at the nation’s top folk music and storytelling festivals, including the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington D.C., the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival in Utah, as well as the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. (It is Connie’s unique honor to be the only performer invited onstage for every NSF since its conception in 1973!) Recently, the Library of Congress bestowed on Connie the honor of an archival collection in her name. The U.S.’s national library now houses the Connie Regan-Blake collection, which consists of papers, sound recordings, videos, photographs and artifacts, documenting her 50+ year career and role in the birth of the American Storytelling Revival. Today, Connie continues to tour as a performer and workshop leader. She also offers a series of original workshops online via Zoom and in-person in Asheville, NC and around the world. These workshops challenge, encourage and teach participants how to find, develop and tell their stories. Connie also offers coaching options for those who are interested in working in a more intimate, personalized setting.