Calling the Jones House Community Center a two-story building would be an understatement - storytelling is part of its foundation.

Tellabration returns to the Jones House in Boone Saturday, Nov. 21, for an evening of storytelling with some of the area's finest yarn-spinners, including Charlotte Ross, Sandra Gudger, Tammy Sanabria and emcee Doyle Pace.

A worldwide benefit, Tellabration brings storytelling to adults young and old, proving that the art is more than just child's play.

According to the National Storytelling Network, Tellabration was founded in 1988 Connecticut by J.G. Pinkerton, who considered the event a means of building community support for storytelling.

"Storytelling's thought to be just for kids, and he wanted to do something to bring adults and older children into storytelling," Pace said.

The inaugural event saw storytelling in six locations throughout Connecticut. Following its initial success, Tellabration expended to several other states the next year, eventually achieving national status through the National Storytelling Network in 1990. The event went international in 1995 by way of Japan, and has since expanded throughout the entire globe.

Pace said that last year, a Tellabration - traditionally held the Saturday night before Thanksgiving - was held on every continent, except Antarctica, a dozen countries, and practically every state in the U.S.

One of those states was Missouri, where, prior to 2005, Pace lived in Kansas City and belonged to a storytelling group. "I've been telling in front of people or an audience for at least 40 years, but probably just actively over the last 25 years," he said.

Naturally, Pace helped produce Tellabration in Kansas City for a couple years, before moving to Boone in 2005, where he'd lived part-time up till then. "When I moved here ... I knew Tellabration was not being done at the time, so I decided to do it," he said.

Pace explained that storyteller Diane Hackworth, formerly of Todd, spearheaded the local Tellabration in years past, but the event stopped when she moved to Tennessee. "I decided I'd start it up again because I wanted to see it happen here, and I'm doing what I can to promote storytelling in the area," he said.

Pace visited the Watauga Arts Council (WAC), and, with the help of folklorist Mark Freed, Tellabration saw its return in 2006. Pace, now a WAC board member, has been organizing the effort ever since.

This year's lineup features Charlotte Ross, a professor at Appalachian State University, a folklorist and a collector of stories. Ross has collected more than 3,000 stories, mostly Native American or mountain tales.

Sandra Gudger hails from Asheville and is president of the N.C. Storytelling Guild. The founder of the Asheville Storytelling Circle, Gudger tells Appalachian and personal stories.

Tammy Sanabria bills herself as Mountain TLC (her maiden initials). Though originally from Beech Mountain, she now lives in Lenoir, but is happy to return to the High Country to tell stories of mountain people.

Although Pace will emcee, he'll likely tell a story or two should time permit. He typically tells folk and Jack tales, concentrating on people of the Southern mountains.

"They're all very good storytellers - excellent storytellers," he said. "I think they'll be very good for the audience we have at Tellabration."

"Watauga County is the ideal place to celebrate storytelling," Freed said. "It has been home to the supreme master storyteller, Ray Hicks, and now Orville and Ted Hicks. The community has hosted beloved tellers like Jim Wolf and Diane Hackworth. And it is home to one of the most knowledgeable tellers with a huge repertoire, Charlotte Ross."

Pace wished to emphasize, however, that the stories are not for young children.

"They're for adults and older children," he said. "It's not that anything inappropriate will be told; it's just that little kids would not understand it and grow restless. I've told stories to 4- and 5-year-olds, and their attention span doesn't last long."

The Boone Tellabration will last from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Jones House Community Center, located at 604 W. King St. in downtown Boone. The event is free and open to the public.

"The Jones House will be decorated for the holidays, and it will be a nice cozy environment for storytelling," Freed said.

For more information, call the Watauga Arts Council at (828) 264-1789.