Every September, Rowan Public Library celebrates the power of storytelling with a festival and a family storytelling concert. This year’s festivities will be on Thursday, Sept. 21.

The Millstream Festival, now in its 18th year, invites all Rowan-Salisbury Schools second-graders to experience the thrill of stories performed by accomplished tellers. The festival is sponsored by Friends of Rowan Public Library, and will be held at Sloan Park in Mount Ulla.

The featured storyteller is Gale Buck of Raleigh. After performing at the Millstream Festival, Buck will demonstrate his storytelling skill at the Millstream Family Storytelling Concert. This event is also sponsored by the Friends of RPL. The hour-long, family-friendly concert will begin at 7 p.m. in the Stanback Auditorium at RPL Headquarters, at 201 W. Fisher St. in Salisbury. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free, and all ages are welcome.

Buck is a writer, storyteller, musician and professional Santa Claus. Though he’s integrated storytelling into his presentations about traditions of Scotland and his performances playing Great Highland bagpipes for years, Buck says he was first labeled a storyteller by Santa Claus himself during a presentation of tales from the Magic of Christmas. Since 2007, Buck has been The Woodsman, a service of the Silver Wreath Inc. that seeks to help others remember the true meaning and magic of Christmas.

Buck now studies with several storytelling groups. He is the winner of the 2014 Bold-Faced Liars’ Showdown at the Storytelling and Arts Center of the Southeast and the 2015 South Carolina Liars’ Championship. He is the co-founder of Village Storytellers in Raleigh and creator of Raleigh’s Front Porch Stories and has shared his tales at parks and campgrounds across North Carolina and Virginia.

For more information about the Millstream Festival or the Millstream Family Storytelling concert, contact Emma Rose at 704-216-7841 or Emma.Rose@rowancountync.gov or visit www.RowanPublicLibrary.org.