01:00 AM EST on Thursday, January 20, 2005

BY BRYAN ROURKE
Journal Staff Writer

If you enjoy storytelling, you'll have lots of Funda this weekend.

The seventh annual Funda Fest: A Celebration of Black Storytelling is under way. It began Tuesday in schools around Rhode Island and continues tomorrow through Sunday with public performances in a variety of venues, from Woonsocket to Providence, and in New Bedford.

In all, there will be six events featuring nine storytellers, some from the sponsoring Rhode Island Black Storytellers organization, some from elsewhere in the country.

"Rhythm and music and even dance are very much a part of African storytelling," says Valerie Tutson, co-founder of the Black Storytellers and director of the Funda Fest. "Storytelling is a base of so many cultural expressions, and it's very interactive."

Funda, which means "to teach and to learn" in Zulu, presents an array of storytelling styles.

"Oftentimes you must do something," Tutson says. "I think of it more as a dialogue than a monologue. But that's not to say there aren't stories where you just sit and listen."

These public performances follow four days of providing a total of 26 storytelling shows in area schools. Tomorrow evening's show in Woonsocket will include a dozen young storytellers, ages 7 to 11, who have been participating in the Black Storytellers' after-school storytelling program.

One of the Saturday shows in Providence will involve many generations.

"The idea is for those of us who are older to remember all the songs and games and rhymes we passed along in the playground and didn't even know they were part of an oral tradition," Tutson says. "And we'll learn what the young people know."

Here's the Funda Fest schedule. For more information, call (401) 273-4013 or visit www.ribsfest.com.

FRIDAY

Kevin K. Coleman Elementary School, 96 Second Ave., Woonsocket. Family Storytellling. 6:30 pm. Donations.

Johnson & Wales University, Multicultural Center, Claverick Street, Providence. Spoken Word, In House Free Style. 9 pm. $5.

SATURDAY

Family FUNda Day, Providence, 225 Washington St. Featuring guest storyteller Queen Nur, accompanied by Nigerian drummer Yomi Jojola, for interactive family workshop, The Games We PLAY. 10:30 am-noon. Family Storytelling Concert and music by students from Community MusicWorks, 1:30 pm.

RISD Auditorium, 1 Market Square (North Main and College Streets), Providence. Storytelling concert, with host Rose Weaver. Doors open 7 pm, concert 8 pm. African Market Place. 8 pm. $12 advance, www.arttixri.com; $15.

SUNDAY

Artworks!, 384 Acushnet Ave., New Bedford. Family Storytelling Concert. 2 pm.