Ocracoke Island storyteller Donald Davis will lead two weeklong storytelling workshops on the island, scheduled for May 30 to June 7 and June 14 to 21.
Each workshop concludes with a free public performance featuring selected participants sharing stories developed during the sessions.
The public performances are scheduled as follows:
- Thursday, June 4, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Ocracoke Preservation Museum. Limited bench seating is available, and attendees are welcome to bring chairs or quilts.
- Saturday, June 20, from 10 to 11:15 a.m. at the Books to Be Red lawn. Guests are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets.
The workshops have become an Ocracoke tradition. Davis first began offering storytelling workshops here in 1998, and except for 2020 during the Covid pandemic, two sessions have been held each June.
Many attendees return each year, including one attendee who has participated every year since the beginning.
Those enrolled this year are traveling from across the country, including California, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Alabama, along with a few local residents, according to Trisha Davis, administrator for Donald Davis Storyteller Inc.
Several former participants have gone on to perform at the National Storytelling Festival and other major storytelling events nationwide.
The workshops attract people from a wide range of professions, including teachers, writers, librarians, clergy, trial attorneys, community leaders, and others interested in improving communication skills and exploring personal stories.
Davis has long been a familiar presence on the island and is always a featured storyteller at the annual Ocrafolk Festival, scheduled this year for June 5 to 7.
Originally from Waynesville, Haywood County, Davis is known for stories rooted in his Southern Appalachian upbringing and inspired by family traditions, community life and everyday experiences.
His storytelling is described as a blend of humor, warmth, and emotional honesty.
A graduate of Davidson College and Duke Divinity School, Davis served for 25 years as a United Methodist minister.
Although retired, he continues to assist the Ocracoke United Methodist Church. Prior to her appointment there, pastor Desiree Adams attended one of Davis’s storytelling workshops.
“That was tremendously helpful for me,” she said in a 2023 interview. “He’s been influential and a mentor in this process, in many ways.”
Davis is the author of 19 books and more than 50 original recordings. His most recent book, “How They Linger: Stories of Unforgettable Souls,” published in 2024 by Parkhurst Brothers Publishers, is a nonfiction collection of personal stories and reflections about memorable people he has encountered throughout his life. The book is available at the island’s Books to Be Red on School Road.
He has received both the Circle of Excellence Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Storytelling Network.
