ASHFIELD — For 39 years, a band of local storytellers has been presenting a Solstice Storytelling and Songfest Celebration to spread joy as the weather gets cold.

This year, the celebration will be held on Saturday, Dec. 16, at 6:30 p.m., with doors opening at 6, at the First Congregational Church of Ashfield, 429 Main St. The show time has been moved up a half hour from previous years.

“The stories are all about finding light and happiness in the darkest time of the year,” said organizer Rebecca Tippens, a Colrain resident.

The event has always served as a fundraiser for various organizations. Although there is no set admission fee, donations from attendees will be divided between three recipients this year: the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, the Ohketeau Cultural Center and the United Nations Refugee Agency.

In addition to Tippens, the group of performers includes David Arfa, Sonny Crawford, Emily Gopen, Christy Grecsek, Yosl Kurland, Aaron Bouse, Rob Peck, Sarah Pirtle, John Porcino, Tim Van Egmond and Rochelle Wildfong. Many of these performers have been working together since the 1980s.

Performances span singing, telling personal stories and recounting tales from around the world. There will be parts of the show that include audience participation. Many performances pull from the individual storyteller’s own cultural background.

While all stories are family-friendly, performances that are less geared toward a younger audience will take place in the second half of the show after intermission, according to Tippens.

Special guest performers include storyteller Larry Spotted Crow Mann and the musical duo One Part Luck.

Mann, along with Rhonda Anderson, serves as co-director of the Ohketeau Cultural Center, an Indigenous-run cultural center in Ashfield that is one of the Solstice Storytelling and Songfest Celebration’s three beneficiaries this year. Among his other accomplishments, Mann is also a director of the Native Youth Empowerment Foundation, the first Native American to sing the opening honor song and land acknowledgment at the 2021 Boston Marathon starting line, and the recipient of the 2021 Indigenous Peoples Award of the Berkshire County branch of the NAACP.

Mann, a member of the Hassanamisco Nipmuc tribe, has become a nationally celebrated speaker, storyteller, author, musician and poet. His newly released book “The Adventures of Kehteau” is the first installment of an illustrated children’s book series. It teaches sharing, empathy, cooperation and other life skills while exploring different Indigenous cultures. His other book, “Drumming & Dreaming,” is a collection of legends.

The musical duo joining the concert this year is One Part Luck, made up of husband and wife John Bye and Peg Cowan. Hailing from Cummington, they bring with them many instruments, including acoustic guitar, bass, banjo, ukulele, harmonica and a suitcase drum.

“Our songs range from catchy love ditties to serious spiritual meditations, from toe-tapping barn dancers to wistful lullabies,” Bye and Cowan write on their website.

For those who cannot join in person, a Zoom link is available on the event’s Facebook page at bit.ly/4ajh4tm. The Zoom link directs people to a PayPal page to donate to the event’s three beneficiaries.

To make reservations, email dancing_story@yahoo.com or call 413-624-5140. All payments will be accepted at the door. A recording of the Solstice Storytelling and Songfest Celebration will also be available a few days after the event on YouTube.

Reach Bella Levavi at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com.