STORY TIME Thirty years ago, a twentysomething Ohio native who had just moved in with his cousin in Malden saw a professional storytelling event advertised and was intrigued. His cousin expressed skepticism at the idea of paying $8 to listen to stories. “I told him that’s what I moved from Ohio to Massachusetts for — culture!’’ recalled Tony Toledo, now of Beverly.

So they went, and Toledo immediately knew he’d found his calling.

Like many professional storytellers, he has paid his dues over the years since by performing for children at school assemblies, library events, birthday parties, and scouting events.

But he discovered a new dimension to the art when he started performing for adults. For seven years, Toledo hosted the weekly Speak Up open mic storytelling in Lynn. “It teaches you to think on your feet,’’ Toledo said of his long tenure at that event.

On Saturday, July 30, Toledo is the featured artist at Expresso Yourself, a monthly coffeehouse based in a church in Medfield at which spoken word artists are invited to share their poetry, stories, and songs.

The theme for that night will be “Voices from the Past,’’ and Toledo has plenty of those, with a full cadre of tales about his family members who lived long ago. “Everybody has stories,’’ Toledo said. “Not everybody wants to tell them in front of other people.’’

But it’s an art form in which Toledo believes fervently. “When you’re listening to a good story, you forget about your car payment and what you’re going to fix for supper and who you’re supposed to call back. You get pulled into the story,’’ Toledo said.

Audience members who feel so inspired will be welcome to try their own hand at storytelling once Toledo has set the mood.

Expresso Yourself meets the last Saturday of every month at 7 p.m. at First Parish Unitarian Universalist, 26 North St. Medfield. Suggested donation is $5 adults, $3 students. Complimentary coffee and snacks are provided by event sponsor Starbucks of Medfield.

SUMMER THEATER Creative Arts at Park, a youth program based in Brookline, presents a free daylong arts festival on Friday, July 29, at the Park School, 171 Goddard Ave., Brookline. The festival features creative work in the visual and performing arts of more than 200 young people from scores of Greater Boston communities. The festival opens at 9 a.m. and features performances by students ages 7 to 15 in dance, music, drama, photography, gymnastics, film and video, writing, karate, and fencing, as well as many exhibits of their work in a variety of visual arts. In conjunction with the festival, students in the camp’s theater program will present “Little Shop of Horrors’’ at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 28, and Friday, July 29; “Aladdin’’ at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, July 29; and “Tartuffe’’ at noon on Friday, July 29. Admission is free. For more information, go to www.creativeartsatpark.org.

WORLD MUSIC Folk singers/songwriters Catie Curtis and Maia Sharp will perform a double-bill on Friday, July 29, at 8 p.m. at The Center for the Arts in Natick, 14 Summer St., Natick. Tickets are $26 general admission; $24 members. For tickets or more information, call 508-647-0097 or go to www.natickarts.org.

The Taj Mahal Trio performs at Cary Memorial Hall, 1605 Massachusetts Ave., Lexington on Friday, July 29, at 8 p.m.Taj Mahal is a performer who explores a wide range of genres, including his own Caribbean and African-American/Southern roots as well as the sounds of the Pacific Isles, South Asia, and West and East Africa. Tickets are $59-$79 and can be purchased at www.caryhalllexington.com or by calling 617-531-1257.

FARM TO FORK Farmstand chefs at Verrill Farm in Concord prepare a three-course Field-to-Fork Midsummer Crop Dinner served outside under the tents as twilight settles on the surrounding fields, with musical accompaniment and a cash bar. Tickets are $48 per person; reservations are required. Verrill Farm is at 11 Wheeler Road., Concord. For reservations or more information, call 978.369.4494 or go to www.verrillfarm.com.

ART AT TOWN HALL Works by abstract artist Amy Robinson Steinmetz are on display through the end of August as part of The Art Chain, a venue for local artists to exhibit their art works on the first two floors of Natick Town Hall. Steinmetz creates designs using paint, ink, paper, pencil, and other elements such as grass. The Natick Town Hall is at 13 East Central St., Natick.

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