The sixth annual Orcas Island Storyfest brings nationally renowned tellers from across the country for three days and five events.

• Tuesday, July 28: Pajama Tales, 6:30 p.m., Orcas Library (free). World of Stories, 8 p.m., Random Howse,  (donation $10-20).

• Wednesday, July 29: Wisdom and Wit, 1:30 p.m., Orcas Senior Center (free). Sacred Stories, Sounds of Spirit, 8 p.m., Emmanuel Parish Hall, (donation $10-20).

• Thursday, July 30: Red Altar, 8 p.m., Sea View Theater, (donation $10-20).

This year’s storytellers include national tellers Motoko and Eshu from Massachusetts, Connie Regan-Blake from North Carolina, Eth-Noh-Tec from San Francisco/Orcas Island, the Eth-Noh-Tec Young Performers Ensemble from the San Francisco Bay Area and local favorites Tom Rawson and Antoinette Botsford.

Storytelling is a powerful art form that transports listeners to other times and far away places, and most times stories can bring you right back to the center of your own heart and humanity.

Special this year is Red Altar, a multi-media story theater presentation that played to standing ovations in San Francisco.  It is about six teenagers from China who shipwrecked on the shores of Carmel Bay in California, 1850. They started the fishing industry in the Monterey Bay area despite anti-Chinese violence and legislation. This story of perseverance and courage in the face of racism is a common story even today especially throughout the West Coast.

Sponsored by Eth-Noh-Tec and the Friends of the Library, the Orcas Storyfest is a community endeavor.