DOWAGIAC — Stepping out in front of a crowd of people Wednesday evening, Anne Rutherford, of Portland, Oregon, pulled a mandolin strap over her shoulder and began strumming the tune of a familiar folk song.

“Oh, my darlin’, oh, my darlin’, oh, my darlin’ Clementine,” she sang to the crowd. “You are lost and gone forever, dreadful sorry, Clementine.”

Between each verse, Rutherford would animatedly explain how she came to know the song, and in the hour and a half following her song, she entertained the people of Dowagiac with short tunes and tall tales — the way only a professional storyteller could.

Rutherford took the stage Wednesday evening at Southwestern Michigan College as the storyteller for the Dogwood Fine Arts Festival. Her performance included songs, personal anecdotes and tall tales. In addition to her Wednesday performance, Rutherford hosted a storyteller masterclass Tuesday and various productions for local students.

A Portland-based storyteller since 1996, Rutherford’s work includes original fictional tales, ghost stories, tall tales, personal stories, Pacific Northwest folklore and jokes. Rutherford’s CD, “The Habit of Joy,” is a Storytelling World award winner. She is also a four-time first-place winner of the Northwest Folklife Liar’s Contest.

Rutherford said she had been drawn to storytelling since she was young because it can bring people together and make people laugh.

“I find that stories can take something that is so unique and weird about one person’s life and finds that other people relate to it even if it is outside of their particular experience,” she said. “It turns out that we all have things in common, even people who you never thought you would have anything in common with. It gives us all something to talk about.”

Following Wednesday’s performance at SMC, Rutherford said she enjoyed the Dowagiac crowd, and that she has enjoyed her time participating in the Dogwood Fine Arts Festival.

“What a beautiful place. It was just terrific,” she said. “You can tell there is a tradition of storytelling here, just from the way people were responding. Obviously, the people in this town appreciate this as an art.”

Jennifer Ray, an organizer of the Dogwood storyteller event, said she was pleased Rutherford’s performance and that several attendees of the event said they enjoyed Rutherford’s tales.

“I feel like she did a superb job,” Ray said. “She was certainly different than some presenters we have had in the past. … I feel like she has a really good mix between the serious and the humorous stories.”

Both Ray and Rutherford said they believe storytelling is as much of an art form as singing or painting and that they hoped audiences left Wednesday’s performance having been inspired to tell their own stories.

“We all have stories to tell,” Rutherford said. “It is so energizing to hear stories. It really gets your imagination and your energy going.”

The Dogwood Fine Arts Festival will complete tonight with a presentation by author Wade Rouse. The event will take place at 7:30 p.m. at SMC. Tickets are $20.