Once Upon a Prairie Storytelling Festival Saturday, July 10, 10am-5pm Old State Capitol Senate Chamber Downtown Springfield 785-7960 Free

Spoken stories

National wordsmiths Kucha Brownlee, Baba Tony Brown, Brian “Fox” Ellis (pictured) and Barry Cloyd wow audiences with their vivid renditions of African and American folklore, American Indian stories, frolicking fables, powerful proverbs, visions of the human experience, prairie tales and much more. A special musical session is scheduled for the Dana-Thomas House State Historic Site at 1 p.m. and the youth-favorite “Cookies and Milk” session is scheduled at Café Moxo at 2 p.m.