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Tomahawk icon James E. Webb passes away at 81
BY PHILL BARNETT MOUNTAIN CITIZEN TOMAHAWK — Traditional music enthusiast, master luthier and retired educator James E. Webb passed away Feb. 5, after a courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease. His passing marks a profound loss for the local music community and serves as a bittersweet reminder of the quiet but extraordinary impact he has had
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Stories of Place brings creativity and community to Martin County High School
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Martin County Stories of Place welcomed its seventh annual Arts Residency at Martin County High School. The program brought three days of creativity and community to the classrooms of Samantha Maynard, 10th-grade English teacher, and Mandy Lawson, 11th-grade creative writing teacher. The November residency expanded its reach this
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Barefoot Festival returns Oct. 4 with music, culture, focus on land restoration
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN LOVELY — The Barefoot Festival will return to the mountaintops of Lovely on Oct. 4, transforming a reclaimed strip mine into a stage for Appalachian music, artisan craft and community connection. Now in its second year, the free one-day festival will continue its mission of showcasing regional talent and celebrating
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Martin County joins Eastern Kentucky Humanities Commission
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — A regional movement to preserve and promote Eastern Kentucky’s rich history added a new voice Thursday. The Eastern Kentucky Humanities Commission welcomed the Martin County Historical and Genealogical Society as its 33rd member organization. The visit to Inez by EKHC co-founders Dustin Doyle and David Clinger marked another
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Martin County Tourism Commission to back Appalachian Artist Festival
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Every summer, a sliver of eastern Kentucky becomes a canvas. This year, on Saturday, Aug. 2, the Appalachian Artist Festival (AFF) will return to downtown Inez for its third annual run. This year, however, instead of operating under the City of Inez banner as it did in its
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Barefoot Festival to debut in Lovely
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN LOVELY — Get ready for the Barefoot Festival to debut in Martin County on Nov. 1 and 2, bringing music, community and culture together on a reclaimed strip mine on North Wolf Creek Road in Lovely. The two-day event promises to be like nothing you have experienced. With live performances
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Heritage Day set for Oct. 19: Event pays homage to old ways of Appalachia
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Martin County residents come together each year to celebrate roots, culture and community at Martin County Heritage Day. The event pays homage to the old ways of life, honoring the grit and traditions of ancestors who called these Appalachian hills home. Set for Oct. 19, Heritage Day will
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Stories, graves and community: The heart of LiKEN’s efforts in Martin County
In a world that often seems too large and impersonal, it is the intimate narratives and vibrant threads of community that remind us of our shared humanity. The storytelling project, Stories of Place, led by the Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network (LiKEN), marks this belief. The mission of LiKEN, a Lexington-based sustainability-focused nonprofit, is to build
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Stories of Place: LiKEN begins family cemeteries project in Martin County
BY PHILL BARNETT MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Madison Mooney and Karen Rignall were the guest speakers at last week’s Kiwanis meeting in Inez. Mooney and Rignall represented the Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network (LiKEN) and presented an update on the nonprofit’s Stories of Place project in Martin County. Stories of Place, a LiKEN storytelling project, highlights
