The holidays are all about traditions and we are so happy to celebrate our Community Christmas as one of the many traditions at Pine Mountain Settlement School. Beginning at 4:30 pm, children 12 and under will choose a gift and enjoy milk and cookies.

Our Nativity Play is the longest-standing tradition of Pine Mountain Settlement School! The first play was performed in 1913, the year Pine Mountain Settlement School was established. The play was written by Katherine Pettit and Ethel deLong Zande. Originally performed outdoors, the play is a compilation of passages of scripture, hymns, carols and carols. We offer two shows on December 14th:

Doors open at 2:30 pm and the play begins at 3:00 pm to be followed by a reception at Laurel House

Doors open at 6:30 pm and the play begins at 7:00 pm to be followed by a reception at Laurel House.

Maggie Bowling will be coming to Pine Mountain Settlement School to share the joy of wreath making! We look forward to this event every year and welcome you to join us!  This is a FREE workshop open to children and adults. The children’s class begins at 4:30 pm followed by the adult class at 6:00 pm.  Participants will leave with a festive wreath for the season!

For 112 years, Pine Mountain Settlement School has been a place where people come together to celebrate, learn, and share. We are humbled to honor that tradition and welcome everyone to campus for a meal. Even during trying times, there is so much to be thankful for and we are grateful to break bread with friends, neighbors, newcomers, and family. This is a FREE event open to all. We hope to see you!

Menu: Turkey Casserole, macaroni and cheese, green beans, mashed potatoes, salad, and rolls with pumpkin spice cake for dessert.

We are thrilled to welcome back our former educator to teach folks about needle felting.  This art form creates scenes and forms with fiber - a slow and gorgeous craft to ground us in the cooler seasons.   This is a FREE workshop open to children and adults. The children’s class begins at 4:30 pm followed by the adult class at 6:00 pm.

It can be challenging to find a space and time to create - until now! We invite you to join us on Thursdays from 5 pm to 7pm for our Coffee Shop Craft Club! Bring your craft (crochet, painting, knitting, etc.) and share creative space and conversation while enjoying a cup of coffee, hot chocolate, or apple cider! We will meet in the coffee shop located downstairs in the Laurel House on the following dates:

October 23, October 30, November 6, November 13, and November 20

Join us as we learn how to make our very own natural remedies! Participants will make bug spray, lip balm, and sugar scrub during our FREE Pass It On workshop located in Plant Center on our historic campus and includes all materials. The event is open to youth ages 8-17 (4:30 pm) and adults (6:00 pm).

Register

This project is supported in part by South Arts, a nonprofit regional arts.

Join us for our first interactive outdoor experience - an intersection of Art, Sustainability, and Nature. Enjoy interactive art displays along our trails - illumination, inspiration, and community - dance under the stars to the whimsical melodies of the night, and get lost in the gloaming at Pine Mountain Settlement School. Children 12 and under are free. Adults and children 13 and older are $15. If you are interested in the dinner with Ashley Bledsoe, those tickets are available under “The Gloaming Dinner and Art Trails”.

We are delighted to offer an evening celebrating art, sustainability, nature, and FOOD! Ashley Bledsoe is back with a meal worthy of the beauty of Pine Mountain. Come join us under the stars and enjoy this incredible collection of elevated Appalachian cooking! Tickets are $65 and support our community programming. Dinner includes appetizers, meal, and dessert served family style as well as VIP tickets to the art installations.

Please call to inquire about registration. (606) 558-3571

We are thrilled to offer blacksmithing with our very own Jonathan Hansel as part of our Pass It On Series. This FREE workshop is for children 15-17 at 4:30 pm and adults at 6:00 on Tuesday, September 30th. This is a beginner level course with limited space! Register below!

Uh-oh, did you get diagnosed with a case of bibliophilia?? You'll have to come make your own book with us on Tuesday, September 23rd. Learn how to bind your own books and journals using glue and thread. You can use the paper you made last month, or choose from different paper we'll have available. This is a FREE workshop open to children and adults. The children’s class begins at 4:30 pm followed by the adult class at 6:00 pm. The workshop takes place on our historic campus in the Draper building.

The hills hold chilling tales! We are thrilled to welcome Matthew Sparks and Olivia Sizemore as they share their collection of haint tales from around the region! Storytelling is an important part of Appalachian heritage and haint tales have persisted for generations! This FREE event includes a discussion with the authors, a meal, and a craft. Be sure to bring your own haint tale to share! Dinner begins at 6 pm at the Laurel House and includes baked chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, salad, and homemade rolls.

Paper-making is a simple process that shows us how to slow down and appreciate the beauty in something we often take for granted. On August 21st, participants will be led through the process of making their own handmade paper from junk mail. We will make pulp from recycled paper, fashion a mould & deckle out of upcycled picture frames, and create sheets of homemade paper that can be used for crafts, journaling, scrapbooking, and bookmaking.

The paper will have to dry overnight, so folks can either come pick it up or come back for September's Pass It On where we will be making books! This is a FREE workshop open to children ages 8 to 17 and adults.

The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, provides operating support to Pine Mountain Settlement School with state tax dollars and federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

A tradition that reaches back almost to the beginning, Fair Day is an annual event for community, connection, and celebration of our traditions and heritage! We are excited to move Fair Day to August so we can revive the original purpose of Fair Day - to enable folks to share the bounties of their garden and learn techniques, both new and old, to ensure better production on small plots of land dotting the hollers and hillsides of Eastern Kentucky. Be sure to check out the exhibit list below to submit your very own homegrown or homemade items to be judged for a prize. We welcome vendors to sell their wares (see registration link below) and everybody everywhere to come enjoy good food, good music, and a good time at Pine Mountain Settlement School!

Food is a fundamental part of connecting - to people, to place, to meaning. We are delighted to celebrate the beauty held in moments of togetherness by gathering to a share a meal which celebrates the creativity and resourcefulness of mountain folk. Join us and Ashley Bledsoe as we celebrate the summer harvest with a locally sourced meal under the stars with the beautiful backdrop of Pine Mountain. Meals are $65 per person and go towards supporting our community programming.

This free dinner series is designed to celebrate, share, and connect with what it means to be Appalachian and explore how we can nourish the narrative of our region by connecting with others. We welcome thinkers and movers to share in a meal, discussion, and craft. Join us as we welcome Amy Richardson - farmer, author, mother - as she discusses storytelling as memory. We will share a meal and join the creative process by making a memory map.

Kentucky Farm Bureau will be hosting their Ag in the Classroom workshop at Pine Mountain Settlement School! Learn hands-on lessons with real-world applications and take your teaching - and your students - to the next level! Mark your calendars! REGISTER BY MAY 3OTH!

This free dinner series is designed to celebrate, share, and connect with what it means to be Appalachian and how we can mold the narrative of our region by connecting with others. We welcome thinkers and movers to share in a meal, discussion, and craft. Join Appalachian author and small business owner, Mandi Fugate Sheffel as she discusses how place informs identity. Mandi Fugate Sheffel was born and raised in Red Fox, Ky. She is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University and is currently the Sycamore Fund Project Coordinator at the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky. Additionally, she owns and operates Read Spotted Newt, an independent bookstore in the coalfields of eastern Kentucky. Her personal essays and opinion pieces can be found in Still: The Journal, Lexington-Herald Leader, and the Courier Journal. Her forthcoming personal essay collection, The Nature of Pain, will be released in 2025 through The University Press of Kentucky. 

Join us for a special event as our Junior Appalachian Musicians showcase what they have learned! The recital begins at 5 pm with our free Mother’s Day Dinner followed by the recital at 6 pm at Laurel House. The meal includes fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, macaroni and cheese, rolls, and dessert.

Make plans to join us April 19th for a spring wildflower hike to celebrate Earth Day and the marvels of spring.

KNLT Spring Wildflower Hike

Date: April 19, 2025

Time: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Location: James E. Bickford State Nature Preserve (Pine Mountain Settlement School)

Harlan County, KY

Spring has Sprung and bunnies are on the loose! Come join us as we hunt for eggs and celebrate all the season has to offer! We will offer two hunts: one for younger children (toddler - 5 years) and another for older children (6-12 years). All hunts include prize eggs!