The first presentation of the 2019 Dorothy Godtland Lecture Series will be “Art of Storytelling” by Bev Jackson Cotter. 

The presentation will be from 7 to 8 p.m. Friday at The Albert Lea Art Center, 101 S. Broadway in Albert Lea.  The event is free and open to the public.

Jackson Cotter recognized the value of storytelling when she was the executive director of the Freeborn County Historical Museum. 

Her original show-and-tell history programs evolved into stories of items found in the museum’s collection when people in her audiences would say, “You know, my dad had one of those and I remember him telling …”

For 16 years, she coordinated the Minnesota Storytelling Festival annually in Austin, and for more than 25 years has shared regionally her personal stories and those from other cultures.