DOWAGIAC — During an event next week, a local festival will be setting out to prove that telling a good story can be a work of art.

The Dogwood Fine Arts Festival will welcome Anne Rutherford as its storyteller for the 2019 season. She will be performing at 7:30 p.m. May 15 at Southwestern Michigan College’s Dale A. Lyons Building, 58900 Cherry Grove Road, Dowagiac. Tickets for the performance are $8.

Rutherford will also host a master class where she teaches people how to harness their storytelling abilities starting at 7 p.m. May 14 at the Cass County Council on Aging Front Street Crossing location, 227 Front St., Dowagiac. Tickets for the master class are $10.

Tickets for both events can be purchased at the door or by visiting dogwoodfinearts.org or by calling (269) 782-1115.

In addition to the masterclass and performance at SMC, Rutherford will host three performances at Dowagiac Middle School for local students.

A Portland-based storyteller since 1996, Rutherford’s work includes original fictional tales, ghost stories, tall tales, personal stories, Pacific Northwest folklore and jokes. Rutherford’s CD, “The Habit of Joy,” is a Storytelling World award winner. She is also four-time first-place winner of the Northwest Folklife Liar’s Contest.

Jennifer Ray, chair of the Dogwood Festival’s storyteller committee, said she first saw Rutherford perform at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. Ray said Rutherford’s performance resonated with her and that she knew Rutherford would be well received in Dowagiac. 

“I think she will be appealing to all,” Ray said. “I just liked her from the moment I started listening to her. … Though her stories are personal about experiences she’s had, somehow, they always have something that all of us can relate to and touches some of our common, human traits.”

Hosting a storyteller has been a mainstay of the Dogwood Fine Arts Festival for years. While some may not think of storytelling as an art form, Ray firmly believes that storytelling can be as much of an art form as painting or classical music.

“A good storyteller can take everyday experiences, and I think this is true of other, more visual artists, and make something special out of everyday things,” she said. “I think storytellers can find the best of humanity and all the commonalities that we have as human beings and bring them together in a story they crafted out of everyday people and ordinary events. They have a gift to find ways to connect us and make us laugh. … They reflect humanity in a powerful and meaningful way, the same way that other artists do.”

Ray said she would encourage anyone to attend either of Rutherford’s events, whether it is her masterclass on May 14 or her performance on May 15 at SMC. She added that she hoped attendees would leave the events with a better appreciation for storytelling and a new perspective on how they can tell their own stories.

“Both events are so worthwhile because they will just give your spirit a boost,” she said. “The masterclass will serve as inspiration, and the performance will give you a chance to sit back, laugh and just appreciate the quibbles and triumphs of life.”