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"I cannot tell a lie", said George Washington. "Don't fib or you're nose will grow", is what Pinocchio was told. Well, we encouraged folks to lie – the bigger the tale the better! That's what the Texas State Liars Contest© is all about. Storytellers from across the State will compete to see who the biggest liar in all of Texas is. Many wild tales were told on the FNB Stage!
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Former Biggest Liars Contest Winners
 2010 Winner DeCee Cornish |
 2009 Winner Dennis Gaines |
 2008 Winner DeCee Cornish |
 2006-2007 Winner Dennis Gaines |
 2005 Winner Donna Ingham |
DeCee Cornish |
Decee Cornish, The "Urban Griot" During a storytelling session Decee will help and encourage your students to see and understand the scope of historical events and introduce them to the people, the places, and the cultures, that shaped this great country and the world we live in. For over a decade his stories have informed, entertained, and enlightened, students of all ages from Kindergarden to High School. A multi-cultural storyteller with programs that include heroes, villains, tall tales, legends, fantasy, mythology, even things that go "bump in the night". Performing in schools, libraries, parks and at festivals, special events and more. An award winning storyteller. Decee has traveled internationally to gather his stories. He has returned to share them and his experiences with people of all ages. |
Dennis Gaines |
Dennis Gaines calls himself "a cowboy poet, humorist and storyteller, a vocation that rates with bawdy house piano player in terms of prestige and respectability." Nevertheless, having survived an epic childhood which found his parents playing hide-and-seek all over the world, and Dennis always finding them, he was allowed to matriculate to the seventh grade, after which he found himself seeking ungainful employment in the oilfields of the world and ranches of the West. He frequents assorted gatherings and may be spotted at conventions, private parties, banquets, gunfights, etc. He has never been seen in the company of lawyers, politicians or other such outlaws. (This past sentence alone may be why he's a two-time winner of the Texas State Liars Contest.) An invitation to the 2011 Storyfest from Dennis: "Howdy, This is Dennis Gaines. I go to Storyfest every year to do three things: tell stories, visit with wonderful people, and win as many cakes as possible in the Cake Walk. Come share a piece of cake with me!" |
Donna Ingham |
Donna Ingham, an award winning author and performer of the spoken word from Spicewood, Texas, now has 28 of her favorite Texas tales collected in a book, Tales with a Texas Twist (2005). Her two newest books about Texas are 1001 Greatest Things Ever Said about Texas (2006) and You Know You’re in Texas When (2007). A retired English professor turned author and storyteller, Donna has spent over 30 years as a writer and teacher of writing and over 12 years performing as a professional storyteller. Featured on the Exchange Place stage at the National Storytelling Festival in 2003, she has also performed at every major storytelling and folk festival in her home state and in several other states and in Europe. She is the 2007 recipient of the John Henry Faulk Award for “outstanding contributions to the art of storytelling.” In her work, she takes the ancient art of storytelling and gives it a Texas twist with a unique repertoire of tales drawn from folklore and history, particularly that from her own Texas roots; from personal narratives she’s created about growing up an only child (and so did her sister); and from myths, legends, and fairy tales she has Texanized and made truly her own. She also was the very first winner of the Texas State Liars’ Contest © at Storyfest. |
Larry Thompson |
Larry Thompson has been in front of audiences for 25 years. Whether in storytelling performances for adults and children, providing emcee services for indoor and outdoor events, or providing technical and soft skill training, Larry is at home helping the audience laugh, learn, and let loose. He has told stories on mountain tops and in valleys from New Mexico to South Carolina and many large and small places in between. Larry tells cowboy tales, folk tales, and home-grown tales and guarantees to make the audience smile. He has recorded two compact discs with old and new favorite stories and has published a book of his own campfire stories. His newest book, Wild West—Plastic Cowboys and Indians Have Feelings Too, is a collection of western stories. He is past president of the San Antonio Storytelling Association. |
Mary Grace Ketner |
Whether surrounded by folks on haybales at George West, kids on carpet samples in the library, college students at a keynote, or families in the cushioned seats of San Antonio’s Majestic Theatre, Mary Grace Ketner brings listeners an elegant gift of story. Stirred by passion and a deep love of tale-tellling, long silent traditional oral narrative stirs back to life in her gentle hands. Experience whimsy, wit, insight, “ROFL” or universal human values with a Texas drawl, all spun into a fantasy before your very ears. As one listener commented, “I believe that we opened ourselves up to create a magic space. What happened in that magic space? Can’t say exactly, but I know the climate was ripe for transformation.” Born in Kerrville, Texas, with teaching degrees from Texas Lutheran University in Seguin and Texas State University in San Marcos, Mary Grace has now called herself a San Antonian for four decades. Selected for inclusion in both the Texas Commission on the Arts Touring Artist Roster and the Mid-America Arts Alliance since 2008, you can also find her on her own Web site at www.talesandlegends.net. Busy writer, producer, and teaching artist, her Storytelling World Gold Award-winning CD, Ghostly Gals and Spirited Women, is available in our sales booth. "I wish you could hear the comments that keep buzzing around here,” said one conference producer; “Mary Grace is a born storyteller.” |
Connie Meeker |
Connie entertains audiences with stories based on her childhood growing up in far west Texas and far east Texas. Her dad was a cowboy and she followed in his shadow every chance she got. Bucking horses, armadillos, and a plethora of fascinating characters fill Connie's stories and keep adult audiences laughing and remembering their own childhood, while children dream of magical ponies and exciting adventures. In addition to her original western themed stories, Connie tells a variety of other original stories primarily drawn from her own personal experiences. Included in her repertoire of stories are her award winning original Liar's Tales. |
| Fred Peters | Picture & biography coming soon! |
| Jerry Young | Picture & biography coming soon! |
| Sabrina Childress | Picture & biography coming soon! |
