The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: October third, telling tales in Jonesborough.

Thirty-one years ago, Jimmy Neal Smith, a high school teacher in Jonesborough, Tennessee had a vision while driving several of his students to the printer who produced the school's paper. Grand Ole Oprey star Jerry Clower was spinning a yarn on the radio that had everyone in the car entranced. "Wouldn't it be wonderful," Smith said, "if we could bring great storytellers like that to Jonesborough." The rest of this story is history.

Each year since, the National Storytelling Festival has drawn more and more people to this tiny town tucked in the northeastern corner of Tennessee, between the Blue Ridge and Great Smokey Mountains. Jonesborough's a neat setting for what has become the nation's oldest event dedicated to the oral tradition. Historic buildings, antique stores, and craft shops line the streets of the town, which claims to be the oldest in Tennessee.

All this weekend, under tents set up here and there, top tale-spinners from around the world will weave their spells for adoring audiences. They'll hear tales from England to Appalachia; sounds and stories that celebrate the connections between the past and present, between cultures and continents. Other events include two open-air concerts of ghost stories, a yarnspinners' party, a showcase of family-rated tales, and a midnight cabaret, where the myths are meant for adult ears only. If you happen to be around Jonesborough this weekend, stop by the National Storytelling Festival. If not, put a visit on nextyear's calendar.

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