Celebrate three years of Story Parlor with a three-day festival dedicated to creativity, storytelling, and artistic connection. Through a vibrant mix of workshops, panels, roundtables, and live performances, Parlor Fest invites artists, writers, and creative minds of all kinds to explore ideas, share inspiration, and build community. Whether you're seeking fresh sparks of creativity, meaningful conversations, or simply a space to celebrate the power of story, join us for a weekend of discovery, connection, and creative momentum.
FEATURING…
MISSY BELL | R. LYON BERGH | HEATHER BROWN-POWER | THE CAMPFIREBALL | JACQUI CASTLE | ERIN HALLAGAN CLARE | ELI CUNNINGHAM | THE DUKE OF WHO KNOWS WHERE | SHANNAH GAME | TIM HEARN | JUAN HOLLADAY | LOCKIE HUNTER | ALLI MARSHALL | KELLY MORRIS (THE DUKE OF WHO KNOWS WHERE) | JAMES NAVE | MELVIN HOWELL | SPEAKEASY IMPROV | TALYA REYNOLDS | RICARDO TEJEDA
….and more!
The Parlor Fest Schedule
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Happy Hour | 5:00-6:30pm
Welcome MixerEntertainment | 7:00-9:00pm
The Campfireball
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Morning Muse | 9:30-10:30am
Coffee & Creativity
Led by Heather Brown-PowerWorkshop | 11:00am-12:30pm
Invoking the Muse
Led by R. Lyon BerghLunch (not provided)
Parallel Play
Panel | 1:30-2:45pm
Working Through the Creative Middle
Featuring Missy Bell, Erin Hallagan Clare, Jacqui Castle, and Melvin Howell
Networking | 3:15-4:30pm
Artist Speed Dating: “Creative Allies”Happy Hour | 5:00-6:30pm
Improv Lesson
Led by Speakeasy ImprovEntertainment | 7:00-9:00pm
What’s in the Box
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Morning Muse | 9:30-10:30am
Coffee & CreativityWorkshop | 11:00am-12:30pm
Completing Creative Work
Led by Alli Marshall
Lunch (not provided)
Parallel Play
Panel | 1:30-2:45pm
Putting Your Work Out There
Featuring Eli Cunningham (Asheville Community Theatre), Lockie Hunter (Wordplay, Juniper Bends), James Nave (Imaginative Storm Project), and Ricardo Tejeda (Show and Tale Creative)
Networking | 3:15-4:30pm
Roundtable: “Creative-preneurs”
Featuring Erin Hallagan Clare (“Iterate, Iterate, Iterate”), Shannah Game (“Money Muse”), Alli Marshall ("Leap Before You Look: Learning in the Process."), and Talya Reynolds (“The Creative Connection”)Happy Hour | 5:00-6:30pm
Creative Trivia with Jacqui Castle
Featuring music by Juan HolladayEntertainment | 7:00-9:00pm
All Arts Open Mic
With Special Guest “The Duke of Who Knows Where”
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Missy Bell
Missy Bell is a director making films about people who are ready to step off the ledge. She has been working in film as a writer, director, actor, and producer since 2016. She has directed 13 award winning short films and is currently in post production for her first feature film: Erased. Prior to working in the film industry, Missyworked as a stage director on over forty productions and continues to direct for the stage if the project strikes her passion. She currently coaches actors in group classes, workshops, and privately to help them to reach their fullest potential with each character. She works as a mentoring director with young directors in the Montford Moppets here in Asheville and holds a masters degree in Creativity and Adolescent Development. In a past life, she was a public school teacher managing a high school theatre program and teaching a few English classes on the side. Alongside post-production for Erased, Missy is in the process of developing a feminist slasher film, writing several screenplays, collaborating with playwright, Trish Cole, in bringing her intense and beautiful stage play, Butterfly, to life for the screen, and parenting two exceptional young adults preparing for college. When she's not making art or fulfilling the role of "Mom", she ventures outside to hike, kayak, swim, and cook over open fires.Jacqui Castle
Jacqui Castle is an educator and novelist living and writing in Asheville, North Carolina. Her novel The Seclusion, garnered Castle the title of 2020 Indie Author of the Year through the Indie Author Project (a collaboration between Library Journal and Biblioboard), and the 2022 sequel The Chasm was hailed as “Not only necessary in school libraries but also a solid choice for a class read” by School Library Journal.Jacqui is the proud owner of Lit Local Mini Bookshops, which brings the work of local authors to Asheville establishments. Jacqui currently teaches creative writing through Redbud Writing Project, Great Smokies Writing Program and Story Parlor. When not writing, she can be found hanging out with her family and consuming far too much caffeine.
Erin Hallagan Clare
Erin Hallagan Clare is the founder of Story Parlor, a narrative arts space in Asheville, NC, where community-driven events and workshops bring artists and audiences together through storytelling in all its forms. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Creativity at Rowan University with a focus on creative facilitation. With a Masters in Creative Psychology—plus certifications in creativity coaching, applied mythology, and the Enneagram—Erin is passionate about helping others explore the intersection between creativity and story. A writer, storyteller, a Moth Story Slam champion, and Emmy-winning producer, she teaches regularly at both Story Parlor and UNCA’s Great Smokies Writing Program and leads an annual Creative Facilitator Training Program. Her writing can be found in Psychology Today, Thrive Global, and others, and she is a contributing author to The Coach’s Guide to Completing Creative Work published by Routledge. Erin has spent her career developing the “Inward & Artward Model of Creativity,” and is in the process of launching an online school dedicated to this methodology.Melvin AC Howell
Melvin AC Howell is an award-winning choreographer, creative director, and visual poet whose work blends movement, storytelling, and emotional resonance into powerful artistic experiences. With over a decade of professional entertainment experience — including national tours, sold-out productions, and collaborations with major cruise lines, international artists, and universities — Melvin crafts performances that move beyond entertainment into the realm of conversation and transformation.
Through his choreography, creative direction, and poetic visual storytelling, Melvin explores the intersections of culture, identity, resilience, and human connection. His journey from humble beginnings to global stages has given him a unique insight into navigating "the creative middle" — the essential, often unseen space where endurance, reinvention, and authenticity shape an artist’s most profound work.
Melvin is passionate about inspiring others to embrace the creative process fully, using both triumphs and challenges as catalysts for deeper, more impactful art.
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Eli Cunningham
Executive Director, Asheville Community Theatre
Lockie HunterHunter currently serves as curator of the Juniper Bends Reading Series and as producer and host of the poetry and prose radio program Wordplay on 103.3 FM in Asheville. Originally from the hills of East Tennessee, she holds an MFA in creative writing from Emerson College in Boston and has taught creative writing at Warren Wilson College. Her works have appeared in publications including Hiram Poetry Review, The Baltimore Review, Slipstream, Brevity, Nerve, Gulf Stream Literary Magazine, Main Street Rag, New Plains Review and Arts & Opinion and her satire has appeared in McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Opium, The Morning News and other venues.
James NavéJames Navé is a a pioneer of the spoken word movement, poet, podcaster, teacher, and storyteller. He has memorized over 600 poems and holds an MFA in writing from Vermont College. Navé is a native of Asheville, NC who has travelled the world many times over. He is the co-founder of the Imaginative Storm writing method and offers manuscript coaching and Artist's Way workshops.
Ricardo Tejeda
Originally from Fort Lauderdale, FL, Ricardo Tejeda is an experienced graphic designer, photographer, printer, and writer based in Asheville, NC. With almost two decades under his belt in various creative industries, he started his company, Show And Tale Creative, in 2021. While his design work finds its identity in type-focused minimalism and leans into political and social commentary, Ricardo's photography allows him to explore his passion for the outdoors through landscape photography and genuine human connections through his portrait work. He combines this wealth of knowledge into blog writing for his website. -
Erin Hallagan Clare
“Iterate, Iterate, Iterate: Failing Forward”
A candid dialogue on creative entrepreneurship and the art of failing forward—how Story Parlor was shaped by constant iteration, responsive choices, and learning in real time.Shannah Game
“Money Muse: Where Creativity Meets Wealth”Breaking the “starving artist” myth, Money Muse is a bold, inspiring roundtable for creative-preneurs ready to build wealth without sacrificing their artistry. We’ll explore money blocks, pricing confidence, funding strategies, and redefining success—because financial freedom fuels creativity.
Alli Marshall
"Leap before your look: Learning in the Process
A invitation to lean into the power of bold beginnings—a look at how audacity, naïveté, and beginner’s luck have fueled more creative momentum than caution ever could.Talya Reynolds
“The Creative Connection Method: A Playful, Purpose-Driven Approach to Social Media”
A refreshing look at how to reclaim social media as a creative practice—not a chore—using a simple method to share your voice with ease and authenticity.
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS!
