Cracker Storytelling Festival

Traditional storytelling is a largely forgotten art in a culture of movies and television shows.

But the spoken narrative with a Florida flavor comes to life each year at the Cracker Storytelling Festival at Homeland Heritage Park.

The event evokes the era of Florida's settlement by Europeans when the cracking of cattle drivers' whips gave name to the state's inhabitants.

The festival began in North Florida in 1989 as the Spirit of the Suwannee Harvest Festival. It took its current name in 1991 and moved to Heritage Park in 1995.

The annual gathering of oral entertainers is scheduled to take place Oct. 12 and 13.

The Annual Whip Cracking Contest will be held during the festival, offering cash prizes and trophies in four age-group categories.

The contest entry fee is $10.

The festival includes several tellers based locally and across the state.

In addition, the festival will include food and craft vendors. Admission is $6 for adults and $4 for students.

On Oct. 12, a ghost storytelling event will be held at the Polk County Historical Museum in the Old Courthouse in Bartow.

The event will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for children.