LOVELL — A worldwide movement to promote understanding and compassion among different races and ethnic groups will take shape Aug.1-3 as the first-ever online JustStories Storytelling Festival.

Participants will be able to log on to the JustStories Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/JustStories, to watch videos from a different professional storyteller every hour on the hour, from 8 a.m. to midnight each day.

The videos will feature multicultural storytellers sharing stories of their unique ethnic backgrounds.

Local storyteller Jo Radner will premiere her story, “I Wanted To Be an Indian,” on Facebook at 8 p.m. (Central Daylight Time) Thursday, Aug. 2. In her story, she encounters  troubling revelations about her forebears and their Indian neighbors in colonial New England. She asks what it means to tell, and live with, a family’s whole, complex history.

Throughout the festival, storytellers will be online to answer questions and respond to comments and anecdotes. So people can watch the videos, then comment on them and possibly share their stories, too. 

Festival co-producer Susan O’Halloran, a storyteller devoted to promoting racial diversity and inclusion, says stories are a great way to get people to open up about  racial issues.

“Stories can be entertaining, engaging and emotionally touching,” O’Halloran said. “When you hear other people’s stories, you realize how unique each person and group is, as well as all we have in common. When we’re able to walk in each other’s shoes, even for a few minutes, a stranger becomes a friend.”

For the last nine years, the JustStories Storytelling Festival was held at a venue in the Chicago area. This year, organizers moved it to the Web in hopes of reaching an even larger audience.

For behind-the-scenes glimpses of the festival and a complete list of participating storytellers, visit the JustStories Facebook page.

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