The Franklin Garden Club, in partnership with the Franklin Public Library, invites community residents to a unique, free program, “Fantastical Folktales of Flowers,” a delightful weave of storytelling, music and song. The program, created for an adult audience, will take place on Tuesday October 1, at 7:00pm at the Franklin Library located at 118 Main Street, Franklin, MA. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Franklin Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. The program is open to the public at no charge.

From the dramatic to the sublime to the wildly humorous, world stories about flowers are deeply entertaining. Retold by award-winning storyteller and theatre artist, Diane Edgecomb, along with long-time collaborator and Celtic harper, Margot Chamberlain, these stories conjure a magical world bringing new meaning to favorite garden flowers. The centerpiece of the performance is the Persian legend of Nightingale and Rose. Diane’s original adaptation weaves together myths from many lands that tell how the rose got its special powers of beauty and scent. This evocative tapestry of story and song also includes the tale of the indulgent Narcissus, a Native American story about the Dandelion and a beautiful duet about the mysterious “Language of Flowers,” celebrated in Victorian times. A master storyteller, Diane entertains and enchants by transforming into the characters in her tales and bringing each story to vibrant life. Audiences will celebrate flowers and the stories that have been told about them through the ages with this enchanting performance. As an attendee at another performance stated, “ You brought my garden alive to me in the most unusual and delightful way. I will never see a rose in the same way again!”

Master storyteller Edgecomb and Celtic harper Chamberlain have been featured on NPR and at storytelling festivals, coffeehouses and theaters throughout the country. Edgecomb is known for her unique style of storytelling, where she embodies the various characters and scenes in a tale, bringing each moment alive. For this she has won the National Oracle Award for Storytelling Excellence in the Northeast as well as five Storytelling World Awards. Chamberlain has performed with numerous early music groups including LiveOak, Quadrivium and the Revels. Trained as a “GentleMUSE,” she has played harp for staff and patients at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and other places where the healing power of music is needed. She has accompanied Edgecomb or over thirty years. Her versatile approach to harp and song brings an underlying poetic weave to support each tale.