By LINDSAY DYESS / Community Columnist

One of the best things about living in the South is our rich tradition in storytelling.

The Shelby County Arts Council was proud to present Story Teller Night featuring Van Sykes, pitmaster of Bob Sykes BBQ.

Sykes possesses an amazing talent for storytelling and now he is ready to share his stories with Columbiana.

Spending his life in the family barbecue business gave Sykes the opportunity to meet many different people and collect stories along the way.

“I love people and interacting with people because that is what I do everyday in my life,” says Sykes. “That really is what storytelling is all about.”

After years of entertaining family and friends with his stories, Sykes decided to join ARC Stories, a professional story telling group dedicated to taking stories off the front porch and putting them in front of an audience.

Now he spins yarns for large audiences around Birmingham and was happy to be coming to the Shelby County Arts Council for a fun-filled evening of great stories.

Also joining Sykes were Columbiana Mayor Stancil Handley and Peg Hill.

The event was held Saturday, Aug. 13.