By GINNY COOPER MCCARLEY / Staff Writer

MONTEVALLO—Multiple factions in Montevallo are collaborating to present “A Sweet Strangeness Thrills My Heart: The Journals of Sallie Independence Foster, 1861-1887” at the Parnell Memorial Library on Sept. 25 at 7 p.m.

The Montevallo Arts Council, Montevallo Main Street Players, Parnell Memorial Library Foundation, University of Montevallo-Carmichael Library and the City of Montevallo all pitched in to share the cost of the program, which is hosted by the Parnell Memorial Library.

“We were thrilled to have an opportunity to work together to bring this production to Montevallo. It demonstrates how committed Montevallo is to promoting the arts in our community,” said Allie Williams, director of the library. “Our theatre is the perfect place to host a performance like this, with stadium seating that can hold 142 people.”

The performance will be presented by storyteller Dolores Hydock and music historian Bobby Horton and is based on the diary of a 12-year-old girl living in Florence during the Civil War. The story is interwoven with camp songs, period favorites and original tunes.

Horton has written scores and played for a number of documentary films, including 14 documentaries for Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award winning director and producer Ken Burns. His music is also featured in films shown in national parks.

Hydock is a storyteller from Birmingham. She has been a featured teller at the National Storytelling Festival, and has served as teller-in-residence at the International Storytelling Center. She has also been awarded the Resource Awards from Storytelling World Magazine for her nine albums of original stories.

“Dolores Hydock and Bobby Horton are each so accomplished and well known that we have had people calling from all over the state to get tickets,” Williams said.

The event is free and open to the public, but a donation to support future programming is welcome, Williams said. Tickets are first-come, first-serve and can be picked up at the circulation desk of the Parnell Memorial Library.