7th annual Liar’s Contest returns to Aspen

Aspen Public Radio will present the seventh annual Liar’s Contest at 6 p.m. March 30 at the Wheeler Opera House with Peter Sagal, host of National Public Radio’s public radio game show, “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!” 

Can you spot a fib? This crowd-powered event invites the audience to decide as storytellers spin high-spirited tall tales.

“Six years ago, we were inspired by NPR’s ‘Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!’ to create the Liar’s Contest, and I cannot believe we will have the show’s host, Peter Sagal, here to judge this year’s event,” President of Roaring Fork Valley Storytellers Jill Sheeley said in a press release. 

The panel boasts Aspen’s Steve Child, Chris Wheatley, Torre and Mayor Rachael Richards as judges for the storytellers, which are Nina Gabianelli, Mike Monroney, Doc Eason and Sylvia Wendrow.

Gabianeli is a Crystal Palace alumna, who serves on the Wheeler Opera House and Thunder River Theatre Company boards. She also co-founded Consensual Improv.

“Storytelling is the most powerful way to create connection, empathy and meaning. One of my favorite quotes is from Neil Gaiman, who said stories are important ‘not because they tell us that dragons exist but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten,'” Gabianelli told The Aspen Times.

Colorado-native Monroney is a Crystal Palace alumnus and Aspen Historical Society “History Coach.” He wrote the nationally performed play, “A Briefly Complete History of Aspen.”

Award-winning magician Eason spent 27 years headlining Tower Comedy Magic Bar and making national appearances.

Wendrow is a speech-language educator and longtime Spellbinder’s storyteller — a nonprofit advocating for oral storytelling as a natural avenue to develop literacy skills, foster a love of stories and inspire dreammakers of all ages.

“I think my background in vocal and instrumental music, theater and dance also led me to this endeavor. I have always enjoyed learning about other cultures through reading and travel, and continue to explore this in the stories I tell,” Wendrow said in the release.

Humorist Sagal has been hosting the similar National Public Radio show since 1998.

“Bringing generations together through the magic of storytelling is something the Roaring Fork Valley Storytellers, previously known as Spellbinders, has been doing since our founding by Germaine Dietsch in 1997,” Sheeley said. 

Tickets are $20 per person and support Aspen Public Radio’s nonprofit journalism service for the Roaring Fork Valley. 

For more information and tickets, visit AspenPublicRadio and Aspenshowtix. Discount codes are available for authors, teachers and educators, call 970-920-9000. The Wheeler Opera House is located at 320 E. Hyman Ave.