Professional storyteller, Gary Greene, will be at the Harris Art Center on Oct. 30, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Greene said he wants it to be a “gentle relaxing evening with a family atmosphere.”

He said “storytelling is for everyone” and hopes the arts center will be packed and overflowing with people of diverse ages.

Greene said his stories are about family, personal background, Cherokee Indians, and Appala-chian history.

He worked at New Echota State Historic Site for eight years as a tour guide and storyteller until state budget cuts, caused his departure earlier this year, explained Greene.

“Some came just to hear my stories at New Echota,” Greene said.

Greene is also a singer, guitarist and songwriter. He has two CDs out and is working on his third one.

He writes his own songs and his genre is folk and old country music; his songs are based on the stories he tells, he said.

“I want to share history and rich good stories that people don’t usually hear on a normal basis, and the secret is to talk to (people), not at them,” said Greene.

Greene said most people think story telling is for children sitting down and listening, but it is much more than that. It is “experiencing other people’s lives and stories, that take you into another world,” he said.

“Everyone has a story, and I am a listener just as much as I am a talker,” he said. “We have so much richness in our culture but it’s not being tapped into.”

“People call me a walking history book because I remember all these stories, but it’s just a gift God has blessed me with,” said Greene.

“I have so much I want to share with people, and I want people to share their stories. People don’t realize they have stories, and what wonderful rich history they could share with people,” he said.

Greene said he volunteers from time to time at New Echota, plays at “gigs” when someone calls him, and also has the “privilege” of telling stories and playing music at schools to the younger school students.

He said he especially likes to tell stories to younger children, and usually “within 45 minutes of playing music and telling stories they are singing songs about the Cherokees.”

“I’m not going to grow up; I’m having too much fun,” Greene said.