12th Annual Sounds of the Mountains Festival

The annual Sounds of the Mountains Festival held at Camp Bethel is back for its 12th year, April 19-20. This year’s line-up features nationally known professional storytellers including Donald Davis, Kevin Kling, Doug Elliott and Geraldine Buckley and music performances by The Company Store Band. The festival continues to grow each year, attracting 1,400 attendees last year from 11 states, as far away as Michigan, Texas, Iowa and Utah.

Kicking off at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 19 and running through 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 20 at Camp Bethel in Fincastle, VA, the festival provides a relaxing and entertainment-filled weekend for the whole family. New to the festival this year is a children’s set being held April 20 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. featuring stories by Donald Davis, Geraldine Buckley, Doug Elliott as well as local tellers from the Virginia Storytelling Alliance. A special treat for all ages on Saturday afternoon will be Doug Elliott’s "Nature Lore, Tales from the Trail" in which he tells stories about various plants and animals during an hour-long nature walk. A complete festival performance schedule can be found at www.soundsofthemountains.org.

"With two of the country's most popular storytellers on the schedule, and our continued growth each year, I anticipate this year's festival to be the best attended to date. This will be a weekend full of touching, inspiring, motivating, heartwarming and hilarious storytelling, and music to boot!" said Alan Hoal, co-founder of the festival.

All festival performances are held indoors and the festival will take place rain or shine. Food, snacks, drinks and homemade desserts will be served throughout the weekend. On Saturday, several vendors will provide lunch and dinner during the meal breaks.

Tickets are available in weekend and partial day options, prices vary. Group rates are available for 12 or more people and children under four receive free admission. Tent and dry camping is still available, contact Camp Bethel at 540-992-2940 to reserve your spot. Hotels offering discount festivals rates are also available within a 10-15 minute drive. Camp Bethel is conveniently located five miles off I-81 at exit 156, 10 miles north of Roanoke.

For camping information and/or festival tickets, contact Camp Bethel at 540-992-2940. For festival schedule and performance information, contact Alan Hoal at 919-607-0993 or alan.hoal@gmail.com or visit www.soundsofthemountains.org.