2025 Workshops and Instructor Bios
- Astrology and Astrophysics - Activate Unschool: Building With Life - Composting Boldly: On Grid and Off Grid - Food Security - Morning Yoga and Breath Work - Thai Bodywork - Opening Ceremony Using Bow Drill - Herbal Medicine Making - E-Bikes for Towing and Hauling - Home Canning - Advanced Home Canning - Homesteading: Building Culture and Community without Conflict - Appalachian Poetry - The Year of Mud: Natural Building Essentials - Wild Fibers 101 - Wild Thrifting - Permaculture - Rocket Stoves Display - Paddling Lake Carnico - Tarp Configurations and Knots - Herb Walk for Beginners - Kids & Arts & Singing - Bow Drill and Friction Fire - Acorn Processing: Making and Eating Acorn Flour - Forest Farming Plant Walk - Coexisting In Nature: A Primer on our Relationship With Other Species - Making the Best Protest Signs - Fun With Wooden Pallets - Fermentation - Reconnecting With Nature and the Plant Spirits - How To Play Appalachian Dulcimer with Sarah Kate Morgan -Traditional Thai Yoga Bodywork and Herbal Compresses - Kids Activities - Sing Along for Kids of All Ages - Rewild the Child - Nature-Art Explorations and Child-Led Play - Music Around the Fire in the Evenings - Group Singing: Traditional Appalachian Songs with Sam Gleaves - Learn to Be Your Own Sound Healer - Resilient Futures: Prepping for Disaster - Regenerative Medicine for Lyme and Autoimmune Conditions - Mountaintop Removal in Appalachia: The Struggle Continues
Astrology and Astrophysics with Martin Mudd - Martin grew up in Louisville; he is an Eagle scout and Master of Physics. He has Aikido and Zen training, plus Montessori adolescent certification. Martin taught high school math and undergrad physics. He is residing on Rockcastle River's sylvan side, and studying, in practicum, the science-art of Building With Life.
Workshop Description: In this workshop we will consider together the arrangement of the heavenly bodies and their meanings, from a variety of points of view and coordinate systems, mythical and scientific. We will also meet before sunrise and after sunset to observe the planets
Workshop Description: In this workshop we will consider together the arrangement of the heavenly bodies and their meanings, from a variety of points of view and coordinate systems, mythical and scientific. We will also meet before sunrise and after sunset to observe the planets
Activate Unschool: Building With Life with Martin Mudd - Workshop Description: Learning is in our nature. Even if you find yourself in suboptimal learning environments, you can commit to Activate Unschool together with friends and family, transmuting schoolish curricula by working with your teachers across disciplines, discovering hidden masters and learning environments in your communities. In time your crew can establish a residential Learning Center and create there Montessorized environments that support an elementally balanced regimen of study, service and self-cultivation. After a presentation and discussion period, each participant will sketch drafts of their personalized Curriculum and imagined Learning Center.
Composting Boldly: On and Off Grid with Gretchen Collins - Gretchen Collins and her partner have been living off the grid, on the banks of the Rockcastle River for several years and will share their proven techniques for composting
Food Security with Zimbo Paul - Zimbo is a former Green Beret, homesteader, CSA farmer, businessman, homestead & doomsday prepper consultant. He is currently retired and teaches yoga for fun. Zimbo was born and raised in central/southern Africa. His father built roads across wild, undeveloped land, so Zimbo grew up living in the bush in temporary camps that moved with the road progress. Often the camps were hundreds of km from the nearest small town.
Workshop Description: The Food Security workshop will discuss ways to producing food and money off land farmers that reject. http://poweredbynature.net
Workshop Description: The Food Security workshop will discuss ways to producing food and money off land farmers that reject. http://poweredbynature.net
Yoga - Morning Breath Work with Leila - Leila is a certified yoga teacher, trained in a therapeutic approach to yoga and has worked extensively with elders and those with limited mobility since 2015. She has taught group classes, classes in health care settings, private yoga and classes for senior organizations. www.themedicineplay.com
Workshop Description: It starts with your body and your breath - enjoy an hour of gentle movement and breathwork to connect deeply to yourself and prepare your body, mind and heart for a day of learning, working, playing and connecting with others! This gentle practice is designed to be accessible to just about everyone. We will work standing and seated - a yoga mat or a sturdy blanket will be helpful but not necessary. Much of the practice may even be done seated in a chair!
Workshop Description: It starts with your body and your breath - enjoy an hour of gentle movement and breathwork to connect deeply to yourself and prepare your body, mind and heart for a day of learning, working, playing and connecting with others! This gentle practice is designed to be accessible to just about everyone. We will work standing and seated - a yoga mat or a sturdy blanket will be helpful but not necessary. Much of the practice may even be done seated in a chair!
Thai Bodywork with Eric Blevins - Eric Blevins has practiced Thai bodywork and yoga for over 15 years. He's from Tennessee and loves music, movies and mysticism. He is also a DJ at WXNA in Nashville. Of his Thai Bodywork workshop, he says "This healing technique is beneficial to the giver and receiver. It involves assisted stretching and pressure on parts of the body. We will work on the feet, legs, back, shoulders, neck and head. " Bring a blanket or yoga mat to lie on. Limit 15
Herbal Medicine Making with Lauren Kallmeyer - Lauren is a clinical herbalist who grows a wide variety of medicinal herbs on her farm in Berea, KY, in the foothills of Appalachia. She has an M.S. in Therapeutic Herbalism from Maryland University of Integrative Health, is a member of the American Herbalists Guild and United Plant Savers, and an organizer of The Kentucky Herbalism Alliance. She offers educational workshops, naturally-grown medicinal herb products, and clinical herbal consultations with a mission to make herbal medicine affordable and accessible to all.
Workshop Description: Lauren will discuss the most popular methods of herbal medicine making and the pros and cons of each. Samples and recipes will be provided; $5 fee for materials provided. www.resilientrootsky.com and follow her on Instagram @ResilientRootsKY
Workshop Description: Lauren will discuss the most popular methods of herbal medicine making and the pros and cons of each. Samples and recipes will be provided; $5 fee for materials provided. www.resilientrootsky.com and follow her on Instagram @ResilientRootsKY
E-Bikes With Trailer for Hauling - Dave Cooper of Lexington is the original founder of the Whippoorwill Festival in 2011. he is a retired engineer who loves to ride his bike - he has ridden across America and currently owns 11 bikes of varying styles. His latest purchase is a big honking heavy-ass E-Bike and he will demonstrate its versatility by hauling cooking pots, water and other things around the festival site. his plan is to put a doghouse on the trailer and bicycle across America with his mutt Jeffrey in 2026 to celebrate America's 250th Anniversary - if the country still exists then.
Home Canning and Advanced Home Canning with Christian Torp - Christian is an Attorney and affordable housing developer in Lexington and a long-time social justice activist. He hiked most of the Appalachian Trail in 2012 (trail name "Muzungu") as a fundraiser for Kentuckians for the Commonwealth. Christian is a master gardener and cat lover. He has spent the last three winters living in the city without heat or running water.
Workshop Description: Home Canning - we will learn how to safely preserve sweet and acidic foods. Advanced Home Canning - we will learn how you can can anything and everything using a pressure canner.
Workshop Description: Home Canning - we will learn how to safely preserve sweet and acidic foods. Advanced Home Canning - we will learn how you can can anything and everything using a pressure canner.
Homesteading - Building Culture and Community without Conflict with Matthew Parsons - Matthew Parsons homesteads in the Carter County community of Grahn. He was recently nominated for a Grammy Award for his song "I Built a World," performed by Bronwyn Keith-Hynes. He is an author and farmer, and his poetry and prose have been published in Rattle, Still, and 2River View, among others, and he holds an MFA in Creative Writing from EKU's Bluegrass Writers Studio.
Workshop Description: In this workshop, homesteader Matthew Sidney Parsons will talk about the roots of community and self-reliance. He will talk about the establishment and development of The 144 Farm and the Carter County Commons while looking at some of the possible issues that others may run into while establishing their own homesteading communities. Facebook and catch Matthew on YouTube and Instagram miraclematts
Workshop Description: In this workshop, homesteader Matthew Sidney Parsons will talk about the roots of community and self-reliance. He will talk about the establishment and development of The 144 Farm and the Carter County Commons while looking at some of the possible issues that others may run into while establishing their own homesteading communities. Facebook and catch Matthew on YouTube and Instagram miraclematts
Appalachian Poetry with Scott Goebel and Friends - Organized by Scott Goebel, whose work is immersed in the literary world of Appalachia and has been published in Iron Mountain Review, Journal of Kentucky Studies, Appalachian Journal, Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel, Wind Magazine, Now & Then, and Northern Appalachian Review. Scott edited Jim Webb’s Get In, Jesus (Wind 2012), co-edited Joe Barrett’s Blue Planet Memoirs (Dos Madres 2017), and he has taught writing and Appalachian literature through Thomas More University and Northern Kentucky University. A member of the Cincinnati Literary Club and a long-time member of the Southern Appalachian Writers Cooperative.
Workshop Description: Scott will be joined by various Kentucky literary luminaries and Minnie Moore. Look here for updates as details unfold.
Workshop Description: Scott will be joined by various Kentucky literary luminaries and Minnie Moore. Look here for updates as details unfold.
The Year of Mud - Natural Building Essentials with Ziggy Liloia and April Morales - Ziggy and April have over 15 years of experience in Natural Building and have been teaching hands-on Natural Building workshops for the past 13 years. Their home place, right outside of Berea Kentucky, is where they grow good food, host community wood-fired pizza nights, and teach workshops including Natural Building, Timber Framing, Japanese Carpentry, and more.
Workshop Description: Hands on lessons incorporating fundamental natural building materials; clay, sand and straw. Explore how natural materials can be used to create a variety of mixes to build floors, walls, finishes, and more. This is a kid-friendly workshop. www.theyearofmud.com
Workshop Description: Hands on lessons incorporating fundamental natural building materials; clay, sand and straw. Explore how natural materials can be used to create a variety of mixes to build floors, walls, finishes, and more. This is a kid-friendly workshop. www.theyearofmud.com
Wild Fibers 101 with Austin Hollis - Austin Hollis is a craftsman and aspiring urban homesteader living in Lexington, KY. He has taught workshops at Whippoorwill since 2016.
Workshop Description: In this hands-on workshop, we will dive into a variety of locally-sourced natural -and unnatural!- fibers, learn how to process them, and explore techniques to turn these into cordage for your own use.http://instagram.com/offworld.outfitters
Workshop Description: In this hands-on workshop, we will dive into a variety of locally-sourced natural -and unnatural!- fibers, learn how to process them, and explore techniques to turn these into cordage for your own use.http://instagram.com/offworld.outfitters
Wild Thrifting with Austin Hollis - Austin Hollis is a craftsman and aspiring urban homesteader living in Lexington, KY. He has taught workshops at Whippoorwill since 2016.
Workshop Description: In this workshop, we will explore various natural-fiber fabrics and how to recognize them 'in the wild', as well as their properties for crafting and upcycling; in other words, How to find sustainable fabric on the cheap and the best projects to use them for! http://instagram.com/offworld.outfitters
Workshop Description: In this workshop, we will explore various natural-fiber fabrics and how to recognize them 'in the wild', as well as their properties for crafting and upcycling; in other words, How to find sustainable fabric on the cheap and the best projects to use them for! http://instagram.com/offworld.outfitters
Permaculture with Leandro "Nachie" Braga - Nachie is the Founder of Geomancer Permaculture and the creator of the Kilrush Food Forest in Lexington's Cardinal Valley neighborhood. He is the editor of Emergence: Journal of Insurgent Permaculture and a frequent lecturer and guest speaker. His tireless efforts to grow food in a low income neighborhood have been recognized through awards from the Kentucky Association for Environmental education and Community Environmental Luminary from the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection. Follow him on Instagram @geomancerpermaculture and on You Tube
Paddling Lake Carnico with Carrie Stambugh - Sunday evening after the festival, or on your own. Kayaks at this peaceful, beautiful lake can be rented at the boat dock, or you can bring your own. Lake Carnico is located just one mile from the North Central 4H Camp. Carrie Stambaugh is the author of Paddling Kentucky and Hiking Kentucky: A Guide to 80 of Kentucky's Greatest Hiking Adventures. Carrie Stambaugh is a journalist and photographer, and her work has appeared in The Independent, Ironton Tribune, Greater Ashland Beacon, Bridges, Huntington Quarterly, Portsmouth Metro, and Tri-State Living. She lives in Ashland, Kentucky.
Tarp Configurations and Knots with Joan Candolino - Joan is a tipi maker, potter, herbalist, and a student of primitive skills for 30 years.
Workshop Description: In her workshop she will demonstrate Bowline, Evenk, Figure 4, Prusik knots and more. Joan will demonstrate successful tarp configurations and the knots you need to make them work
Workshop Description: In her workshop she will demonstrate Bowline, Evenk, Figure 4, Prusik knots and more. Joan will demonstrate successful tarp configurations and the knots you need to make them work
Herb walk for Beginners with Melissa Calhoun - Melissa Louise Calhoun is an herbalist in Kentucky who has been wildcrafting with plants as health-helpers since 2002. She studies herbal action under several practitioners, as well as botany and cultivation. She's been an organizer across many regions to connect, empower and create space for other herbal plant nerds, hobbyists and beginners, including fostering the Kentucky Herbalism Alliance and the Whippoorwill Festival. Sharing connections to the plant world is one of the greatest pleasures of Melissa's life, and she adores teaching folks how to find and prepare herbs from their own place, for their own bodies.
Workshop Description: We will Meet and Greet with the wild ones growing everywhere right underneath your feet. Bring all your questions. We'll talk about the plants that reach out and touch us as we walk, highlight their virtues, provide processing advice, and give you a leg up on your healthcare journey.
Workshop Description: We will Meet and Greet with the wild ones growing everywhere right underneath your feet. Bring all your questions. We'll talk about the plants that reach out and touch us as we walk, highlight their virtues, provide processing advice, and give you a leg up on your healthcare journey.
Kids and Arts and Singing with Melissa Louise Calhoun - Melissa is the proud mama of Halcyon, one of the coolest babies ever, and she helped keep Whippoorwill Festival going after Dave Cooper flamed out big time. Melissa loves to sing and do arts activities and she invites younguns to join her for this session
Friction Fire: Bow Drill and Hand Drill with Jeremy Hutchinson - Workshop Description: Jeremy will demonstrate the magic of creating fire without matches, and the importance of keeping your tinder dry!
Making and Eating Acorn Flour with Howard Zuefle and Allison Kemphaus - Howard, from Cincinnati, has 10 years of foraging and gardening experience. Acorns joined his diet 7 years ago. He is currently the nursery manager of Growing Value, an edible perennial plant nursery. Sam Thayer and Arthur Haines have been big influences on his foraging process. Cincinnati Permaculture Institute
Allison Kemphaus is an earth fairy who does Thai Bodywork, grows flowers, weaves baskets, processes acorns for eating, studies Chinese 5 Element medicine, and somatic intimacy. Follow her on Instagram @deepsoulgarden
Workshop Description: Learn to connect with our Oak Elders through their nutrient dense and abundantly available acorns, and the abundant selection of acorns in our local area. Discussion and examples of the process will be presented and many of the steps will be worked through by you, and Acorn pancakes will be made and enjoyed during the last portion of the workshop. Learn about harvest and collection, storage, and learn a few different ways of processing to remove the tannins. Learn how to dry and store acorns for later, or how to use right away to make power packed calorie dense yummy foods!
Allison Kemphaus is an earth fairy who does Thai Bodywork, grows flowers, weaves baskets, processes acorns for eating, studies Chinese 5 Element medicine, and somatic intimacy. Follow her on Instagram @deepsoulgarden
Workshop Description: Learn to connect with our Oak Elders through their nutrient dense and abundantly available acorns, and the abundant selection of acorns in our local area. Discussion and examples of the process will be presented and many of the steps will be worked through by you, and Acorn pancakes will be made and enjoyed during the last portion of the workshop. Learn about harvest and collection, storage, and learn a few different ways of processing to remove the tannins. Learn how to dry and store acorns for later, or how to use right away to make power packed calorie dense yummy foods!
Forest Farming Plant Walk with Terry Black - Terry Black is a longtime Whippoorwill instructor who started forest farming in 2009, planting ginseng and goldenseal. Over the years he has worked closely with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture helping create a ginseng growers program.
Workshop Description: The workshop is an introduction to forest farming medicinal roots and herbs. Participants will enjoy a medicinal plant identification walk, learning how to identify different species of native medicinals as well as plant specific habitat needs and site selection for forest farming. For more information visit Shaw Black Farm
Workshop Description: The workshop is an introduction to forest farming medicinal roots and herbs. Participants will enjoy a medicinal plant identification walk, learning how to identify different species of native medicinals as well as plant specific habitat needs and site selection for forest farming. For more information visit Shaw Black Farm
Coexisting in Nature: a Primer on Our Relationship With Other Species with Kris Dingfield - Kris is an active proponent of reptile conversation. For 30 years he has worked with venomous reptiles, safely handling some of the world's deadliest snakes in the field, providing safe relocations, identification, public talks, and non profit work. Currently with Nature's Embrace, he and his partner are engaged in creating an educational center focused on sustainable building, organic food production techniques, and holistic methods of living, and coexisting with the natural world. Kris has a background of horticulture, permaculture, construction, natural landscape design and a passion for all life.
Workshop Description: In his workshop you will learn techniques and skills to safely coexist with native species, with a special emphasis on venomous species. Designing and maintaining our living spaces to be beneficial to native wildlife. Identification of non venomous, venomous, and potentially dangerous species within North America. His workshop ends with an open dialog about building bridges within our local human communities if time permits. Follow Kris on IG Naturesembracetexas and on Facebook
Workshop Description: In his workshop you will learn techniques and skills to safely coexist with native species, with a special emphasis on venomous species. Designing and maintaining our living spaces to be beneficial to native wildlife. Identification of non venomous, venomous, and potentially dangerous species within North America. His workshop ends with an open dialog about building bridges within our local human communities if time permits. Follow Kris on IG Naturesembracetexas and on Facebook
Making The Best Protest Signs with Dave Cooper - At Morning Circle, Dave will demonstrate how to make the world's best, most visible, sturdy and waterproof protest signs for your upcoming protests against The System, certain politicians or Mountaintop Removal. Or whatever.
Fermentation with Dr. Stephen Pavey and Ryan Koch - “The revolution will not be pasteurized!" Counter Culture Ferments was founded by Steve Pavey and Ryan Koch in 2018 based on their mutual love for fermented foods and a shared commitment to work together with our community and each other to develop and nurture just, equitable and healthy interdependent connections between our land, the food we grow, our bodies and certainly including the microbial communities we need for healthy guts.Steve is an artist, a witness, a photographer, a contemplative activist, who says "my creative process is deeply shaped by a praxis of accompanying and being accompanied by humanity marginalized & dehumanized by neo-liberal settler colonialism (Imperialism & Empire), documenting and creating images with those shrouded in “otherness” towards the goal of collective action and mutual liberation." Follow him on Instagram
Ryan Koch is the founder and former director of Seedleaf, a community gardening and composting organization. He now works full time at GreenHouse17, a nonprofit organization seeking to end intimate partner abuse that also has a therapeutic horticulture component.
Workshop Description: Steve and Ryan will demonstrate fermentation techniques and offer some tasty samples of their work. And we will serve some of their Kim Che (available at Good Foods Co-op) for dinner Saturday night.
Ryan Koch is the founder and former director of Seedleaf, a community gardening and composting organization. He now works full time at GreenHouse17, a nonprofit organization seeking to end intimate partner abuse that also has a therapeutic horticulture component.
Workshop Description: Steve and Ryan will demonstrate fermentation techniques and offer some tasty samples of their work. And we will serve some of their Kim Che (available at Good Foods Co-op) for dinner Saturday night.
Reconnecting with Nature and the Plant Spirits with Sage Blair - Workshop Description: Sage's workshop will show us to recognize when a plant is reachin out, how to ask permission before harvestin an know its ok. We will discuss the plants that join us an how they may be of assistance, how to harvest, and use them. This workshop is guided by you an the plants. Im just here to guide an share my knowledge. We will start out in my space an go on a small walk. I have had lils as young as 8yrs old join. If they are interested, i encourage it with parents permission an preferably with parent.
Bio: Sage is an intuitive healer, traditional herbalist, plant whisperer, teacher, restorer, connector, messenger, friend, and mother who has spent nearly 30 years deeply integrating nature's wisdom and magick in human form.
All of her intuition, innate healing, and herbal abilities honor ancient wisdom, learned throughout her lifetime from several wise teachers.
She is guided by Mother Nature, Earth Spirits, and her ancestors. You can learn more at Nature's Forgotten Whispers https://kyndredsouls.wixsite.com/natureswhispers
Bio: Sage is an intuitive healer, traditional herbalist, plant whisperer, teacher, restorer, connector, messenger, friend, and mother who has spent nearly 30 years deeply integrating nature's wisdom and magick in human form.
All of her intuition, innate healing, and herbal abilities honor ancient wisdom, learned throughout her lifetime from several wise teachers.
She is guided by Mother Nature, Earth Spirits, and her ancestors. You can learn more at Nature's Forgotten Whispers https://kyndredsouls.wixsite.com/natureswhispers
How To Play Dulcimer with Sarah Kate Morgan - Sarah Kate Morgan is an Appalachian dulcimer player, singer and songwriter. She hails from the small town of Sharps Chapel, Tennessee where she cultivated her passion for Appalachian Folk Music. Sarah Kate has performed and/or recorded with artists like Tyler Childers, Alice Gerrard, and Erynn Marshall & Carl Jones. Sarah Kate is an accomplished scholar who graduated from Morehead State University with degrees in Traditional Music, Appalachian Studies, and Arts Administration. Currently based in Hindman, Kentucky, she practices, cultivates, teaches, and preserves Appalachian folk traditions in her role as the Hindman Settlement School’s Traditional Arts Education Director. Whether calling square dances, playing the mountain dulcimer, or making music and creating art with Appalachian youth, Sarah Kate Morgan’s work centers on a lived belief that art and tradition are living, breathing tools that foster hope, build community, and create change. When Sarah Kate isn’t changing the lives of Appalachian youth, she’s baking bread and blasting Dolly Parton in her apartment.
Workshop Description: Sarah Kate will bring a few dulcimers for workshop participants to try and play along. SarahKateMorgan.com and https://www.instagram.com/oldtimey_kate/ and listen to her on Spotify
Workshop Description: Sarah Kate will bring a few dulcimers for workshop participants to try and play along. SarahKateMorgan.com and https://www.instagram.com/oldtimey_kate/ and listen to her on Spotify
Traditional Thai Yoga Bodywork + Herbal Compress with Leah Van Winkle - Leah is an organizer, yoga teacher, bodyworker, farmer, educator & healer. Her passion lies in educating to empower - having the means to know our own bodies, what we need, and to create our own medicine puts real power in our hands. To be health sovereign and in harmony with land and the ecosystem we are a part of is her guiding vision. Leah has been a Certified Thai Yoga Practitioner for 10+ years, trained in traditions deeply steeped with indigenous wisdom from this continent as well as Southeast Asian medicine ways. She is also a long-time yoga practitioner, E-RYT 500 certified Yoga teacher and Vipassana meditator, all of which inform her work. She is based in Berea, KY.
Workshop Description: In this workshop, you’ll learn some basic principles and movements of Thai bodywork, combining deep tissue massage, assisted stretching, and mindfulness to create a healing experience for both giver and receiver. We’ll also teach you how to prepare a traditional Thai Herbal Compress and integrate it into bodywork sessions. Come with a partner or meet one here to make herbal compresses together and exchange a short sequence you can share with others, all done fully clothed on a cushioned mat without oils or lotions. Leahvanwinkle.com
Workshop Description: In this workshop, you’ll learn some basic principles and movements of Thai bodywork, combining deep tissue massage, assisted stretching, and mindfulness to create a healing experience for both giver and receiver. We’ll also teach you how to prepare a traditional Thai Herbal Compress and integrate it into bodywork sessions. Come with a partner or meet one here to make herbal compresses together and exchange a short sequence you can share with others, all done fully clothed on a cushioned mat without oils or lotions. Leahvanwinkle.com
Group Singing: Traditional Appalachian Songs with Sam Gleaves - Sam Gleaves is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist originally from Wytheville, Virginia. He began playing old-time Appalachian music as a teenager, reveling in the beauty of dance tunes, Carter Family songs, and the stories surrounding the music. "Ain’t We Brothers", Sam’s debut recording, was featured by National Public Radio and the Guardian. Since 2015, Sam has released five more studio recordings. Among Sam’s mentors are legendary artists Sheila Kay Adams, John McCutcheon, Peggy Seeger, Cathy Fink, and Marcy Marxer. Writer Lee Smith has heralded Sam as “courageous as hell and country to the bone . . . the best young songwriter around.” As a solo artist, Sam has toured in Ireland, England, Italy, Canada, and throughout the U.S. He currently serves as Appalachian Instruments Instructor and Bluegrass Ensemble Director at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky. samgleaves.com Facebook Instagram
Nature-Art Explorations and Child-Led Play with Christina Bruno - Christina wears many hats at Red Oaks Forest School, including Resident Artist and Art Educator. She has been an art educator for over 10 year all over the Northeast. She's been living offgrid here in Kentucky, working on her homestead, and teaching at Red Oaks for the past several years. She's excited to be facilitating process-oriented and nature-inspired creative explorations at Whippoorwill Fest this year!
Workshop Description: Her offerings include: collaborative painting on upcycled wooden pallets, "nart" (nature-art) explorations including fairy house building, a process-oriented "open studio" with a range of art materials, and opportunities for child-led play and exploration with woodblocks, play scarves, and small instruments!
Workshop Description: Her offerings include: collaborative painting on upcycled wooden pallets, "nart" (nature-art) explorations including fairy house building, a process-oriented "open studio" with a range of art materials, and opportunities for child-led play and exploration with woodblocks, play scarves, and small instruments!
Kids Activities with Sydney Wilk and Allison Kemphaus - Childrens activities including making mandalas, painting, making hats and flower crowns, singing
Learn to be Your Own Sound Healer with Olivia Immitt - Olivia's life transformed when she found a very unexpected solution to her illusive health issues through learning how to sing. Yes you read that correctly, singing. The process of singing has a "balancing" affect on the parasympathetic nervous system helping the body come into a rest and digest state. This discovery of using the voice as a healing tool led Olivia to become formally trained as a Sound Healer at the world renowned Globe Sound Institute, in Sausalito California. Olivia Immitt now has a private practice offering Group Guided Sound Meditations as well as Personalized Sound Healing Sessions. Her mission is to teach as many people as possible how to be their own healer by learning how to use their voice as a healing tool.
Workshop Description: The science behind sound healing is rooted in breaking energy and physical matter apart with dissonant sounds and bringing energy and matter into a coherent state with consistent stable sounds. In this workshop participants will learn how to use their own voice to bring balance into their energetic and physical bodies. Understanding and practicing the foundations of Sound Healing can be applied to helping and supporting your loved ones as well as aiding in professional development for various practitioners and healers. To find more about the instructor of this workshop, Olivia Immitt, visit her website at soulsongsolutions.com facebook olivia Immitt IG @olivia_immitt
Workshop Description: The science behind sound healing is rooted in breaking energy and physical matter apart with dissonant sounds and bringing energy and matter into a coherent state with consistent stable sounds. In this workshop participants will learn how to use their own voice to bring balance into their energetic and physical bodies. Understanding and practicing the foundations of Sound Healing can be applied to helping and supporting your loved ones as well as aiding in professional development for various practitioners and healers. To find more about the instructor of this workshop, Olivia Immitt, visit her website at soulsongsolutions.com facebook olivia Immitt IG @olivia_immitt
Rewild the Child: Sensory Games and Place-based Exploration for Young'uns and Their Grownups with Xyara Asplen - Xyara Asplen is a nature connection mentor with a focus on helping kids to become fully embodied–to understand themselves as fully part of this beautiful and fascinating living world. She does this through Forest-School-style nature exploration, education, and connection, tracking the curiosities and passions of each young’un toward a deeper sense of belonging and empowerment, playing sensory-expanding games, learning about (and participating in) the ecology of our home here at the edges of the Bluegrass and Appalachia, sharing plant knowledge via story, taxonomy, and sensory engagement (including safe and respectful foraging), etc. She's a gardener, a forager, a Kentucky Heartwood council member, an ecorestoration collaborator, an intergenerational caregiver, and the founder and Coordinator of the Rise & Root Rewilding Project.
Workshop Description: In this workshop for kids, we'll play games, share stories and songs, and explore the world through our own wild senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch, proprioception, and interoception); we'll move our bodies, meet edible plant friends, sing together, and have a blast with a variety of games that get us reconnected with our wild animal selves. Oriented toward kids aged 5-12, but you know your young'uns best and will be there with them to help accommodate their individual needs, so that's pretty flexible.
THIS WORKSHOP IS FOR KIDS ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT (welcome to either participate or hang back) so we can all have a fun and joyful time and focus on learning and play without safety concerns.
Workshop Description: In this workshop for kids, we'll play games, share stories and songs, and explore the world through our own wild senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch, proprioception, and interoception); we'll move our bodies, meet edible plant friends, sing together, and have a blast with a variety of games that get us reconnected with our wild animal selves. Oriented toward kids aged 5-12, but you know your young'uns best and will be there with them to help accommodate their individual needs, so that's pretty flexible.
THIS WORKSHOP IS FOR KIDS ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT (welcome to either participate or hang back) so we can all have a fun and joyful time and focus on learning and play without safety concerns.
Resilient Futures: Prepping for Disaster with Kat Smith - Kat is with the Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition, a member-led, youth organization fostering liberatory, radical imaginations and building networks that engage in regional, national, and global environmental justice movements. We accomplish this through intersectional political education, mutual aid, and facilitating training (such as KSEC’s summer camp Catalyst. This work contributes to youth-led, socio-political campaigns focused on addressing the systems of oppression that reinforce environmental injustice. In a state where many youth feel compelled to leave, KSEC helps young people shape a Kentucky where we can meet our needs and thrive. Kids are welcome at this workshop. instagram: @kystudentenvirocoalition
Workshop Description: With the rise in climate disaster that Kentucky is experiencing, this workshop is geared towards the basics of how we can collectively prepare, and build a more resilient community in the face of disaster. We'll talk about why it's important to prepare collectively, needed gear, food, water, when to stay home vs when to leave, emotional care, and more.
Workshop Description: With the rise in climate disaster that Kentucky is experiencing, this workshop is geared towards the basics of how we can collectively prepare, and build a more resilient community in the face of disaster. We'll talk about why it's important to prepare collectively, needed gear, food, water, when to stay home vs when to leave, emotional care, and more.
Children's Activity with Rise Yost - Risa serves as the Environmental Education Specialist with the Kentucky Environmental Education Council. Her predominant role is to administer the certification course for environmental educators throughout Kentucky. She also works with the Franklin County Farmers Market and Woods & Waters Land Trust in Frankfort.
Regenerative Medicine for Lyme and Autoimmune Conditions with Paikea - Paikea is an acupuncturist, regenerative medicine practitioner, and wild foods educator. Prior to acupuncture, Paikea obtained a Masters degree in Computer Science, a Masters in Electrical Engineering, and fellowship training in Genomics. Paikea is a compassionate listener and gently guides people to three things, for true health: 1) Intimacy with the natural world. 2) Intimacy with "Inner Wilderness", meaning curiously explore the childhood, societal, and ancestral trauma that we all carry, to recover Wholeness within. 3) Finding community to recover and play with. So Paikea practices the latest medicine with a holistic heart, while living on farms with Earth-honoring communities. You can find her work in Kentucky and around the country at Regenerative Acupuncture - Events
Workshop Description: In this workshop you'll learn 1) Peptides as the new "People's Medicine" which is affordable, safe, lowers infection, restores body's function; Stealth Infection such as Epstein Barr virus and Lyme are the root cause for many autoimmune and neurodegenerative conditions: Hashimoto, Psoriasis, ALS, Long covid, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, inability to recover from Mold Toxicity. Covid dysregulates the immune system to allow dormant infections resurface, so we see a surge of new illnesses or worsening symptoms post Covid. 2) Shift our mentality from "Kill all pathogen" to "Regenerate cellular health", so the body will Restore homeostasis in all organs, and Recover like a healthy ecosystem. Simplified, sensible lifestyle choices beyond fad diets. Reverse inflammation and reset the gut biome with one simple trick. 3) Emotional Resilience: Any long term health problem creates complex PTSD. How to nourish the nerves to heal deeper than a health condition, even find humor in the process.
Workshop Description: In this workshop you'll learn 1) Peptides as the new "People's Medicine" which is affordable, safe, lowers infection, restores body's function; Stealth Infection such as Epstein Barr virus and Lyme are the root cause for many autoimmune and neurodegenerative conditions: Hashimoto, Psoriasis, ALS, Long covid, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, inability to recover from Mold Toxicity. Covid dysregulates the immune system to allow dormant infections resurface, so we see a surge of new illnesses or worsening symptoms post Covid. 2) Shift our mentality from "Kill all pathogen" to "Regenerate cellular health", so the body will Restore homeostasis in all organs, and Recover like a healthy ecosystem. Simplified, sensible lifestyle choices beyond fad diets. Reverse inflammation and reset the gut biome with one simple trick. 3) Emotional Resilience: Any long term health problem creates complex PTSD. How to nourish the nerves to heal deeper than a health condition, even find humor in the process.
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Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining in Appalachia: The Struggle Continues with Junior Walk and Teri Blanton: Junior Walk of the Coal River Valley of West Virginia has been using an innovative drone monitoring program to keep an eye on the mountains above his community that are being destroyed by coal companies. See some of his shocking aerial footage of Coal River Mountain here, and meet Junior here. He has recently published a book called "Walk, On The Mountain - Not a Manifesto." Teri Blanton is the longtime campaigner against mountaintop removal for the Alliance for Appalachia. Here's Teri speaking at I Love Mountains Day in Frankfort. Both are powerful speakers!
