PRESTONSBURG — The deadline to nominate your favorite Appalachian talent for the 2024 Appy Awards is Oct. 17.
Big Sandy Community and Technical College and the Mountain Arts Center announced the 2024 event is set for March 16 at the MAC.
According to Jill Hamlin, assistant director of Fine Arts for Big Sandy Community and Technical College and the ceremony’s creator, the number of nominations that poured in for 2023 prompted the decision to set an earlier nomination deadline.
“Typically, we have started the nomination process in the fall,” Hamlin said. “However, this past season we received over 200,000 nominations in just a few weeks. With that type of response, we wanted to add more time for more talent from more states in the region to be included.”
Hamlin says a fairly unknown fact about the Appalachian region is the extent of its footprint. The region runs from New York to Mississippi. It encompasses multiple locations within 13 states, including Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
“The 2023 Appy Awards saw every state in the region represented by nominations, presenters, hosts and performers,” said Hamlin. “For us to have such participation from each of these states is an amazing testament to the talent and diversity of the region and to the interest in a ceremony that highlights the best the entire region has to offer.”
The 2024 nomination form has the same categories as 2023, plus two new categories.
“One of the great things about the Appy Awards is that we constantly are seeing new opportunities to highlight different talent across this great region,” said Hamlin. “In addition to our existing categories, we are excited to add Best Traditional Appalachian and Best Music Video.”
To nominate your favorite Appalachian talent, visit www.theappyawards.com and click the nominate tab.
The 2024 ceremony will be held at the MAC March 16 with a red-carpet event at 6 p.m. and the awards ceremony beginning at 7 p.m.