Dogwood Storyteller

Dowagiac Dogwood Fine Arts Festival Welcomes

Award Winning Author and Storyteller

Carmen Agra Deedy

Come and enjoy acclaimed storyteller Carmen Agra Deedy. After Carmen’s school tours on Tuesday, May 13, she will offer a Master Class Workshop at Dogwood Festival Headquarters, 207 Commercial Street at 6:00 p.m. This intimate evening with Carmen costs only $10.00. Her insight and inspiration may call you to develop and tell your own family stories. On Wednesday, May 14, hear Carmen tell tales that will have you roaring with laughter and shedding a tear—often within the same sentence. This family performance takes place in the Theatre of the Dale A. Lyons Building at Southwestern Michigan College and begins at 7:30 p.m.

Carmen Agra Deedy was born in Havana, Cuba, and immigrated to the United States with her family in 1963 during the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution. She grew up in Decatur, Georgia. The combination of her Latin American and Southern heritage has had a rich influence upon her work.

She has charmed and mesmerized thousands of adults and children with her performances as a storyteller at schools, conferences, bookstores and museums across the country and in Canada. She has performed at the Disney Institute, on Broadway at the New Victory Theater, at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, at the Kennedy Center and at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee..

Deedy is a regular contributor to National Public Radio's "Weekend All Things Considered" and "Latino USA.” Her audio collection, Growing Up Cuban in Decatur, Georgia, was named Best Audio book--Storytelling in 1995 by Publishers Weekly, and was also the recipient of the Parents' Choice Gold Award.

She is the author of seven children's books: Agatha's Feather Bed: Not Just Another Wild Goose Story, Martina the Beautiful Cockroach, TreeMan, The Last Dance, The Library Dragon, The Secret of Old Zeb, and The Yellow Star. Deedy lives in Atlanta with her three daughters.

More information about Carmen Agra Deedy and her books and stories may be found on her official Web site http://carmendeedy.com/. Don’t miss this awesome opportunity to hear Carmen Agra Deedy right here in Dowagiac.

Thanks to the generous contributions of Dogwood sponsors, tickets for the family performance cost only $6.00. Securit Metal Products of Dowagiac, MI continues their commitment to the arts in Southwest Michigan. This is their eleventh consecutive year sponsoring this special family event. Also in partnership with the preschool storyteller programs are the Rotary Club of Dowagiac, Dowagiac Rotary Foundation and the Pokagon Fund.

The Dogwood Fine Arts Festival is made possible through the generous sponsorship of the St. Denys Foundation and grant awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. For tickets or more information, about this and other Dogwood Festival events call (269) 782-1115, (866) 490-2847 or visit www.dogwoodfinearts.org.