Happy (almost) summer, folks! It's been a busy season here at the 'Shop.
As we settle into summer, we're reflecting on a joyful Seedtime weekend, preparing to share new films and stories, and finding new ways to connect with our communities both in person and online.
In this month's newsletter, you'll find updates from across Appalshop, from a new documentary premiere and youth-produced films to a photography exhibit, storytelling workshop, and the launch of the new WMMT app. We hope you'll join us in celebrating these projects and the people who make them possible!
A SEEDTIME THANK YOU!
tHANK YOU FOR 40 YEARS OF COMMUNITY AND FUN
We’d like to start off with a big THANK YOU to all who came out and joined us during Seedtime weekend, whether for just one day or all three! It was so wonderful to spend three days surrounded by our local and extended communities, with good food, good crafts, and good music to top it off.
Thank you to our sponsors, performers, food & craft vendors, Appalshop staff, volunteers, and all who helped bring the festival together! Thank you for celebrating 40 years of Seedtime on the Cumberland with us, and we cannot wait to celebrate 40 more!
We'll see y'all again next year, same time and place—the first weekend in June in downtown Whitesburg!
PRIDE MONTH AT APPALSHOP
A NEW DOCUMENTARY FILM & YOUTH-PRODUCED WORKS
It’s Pride Month and we at Appalshop are celebrating this year in an exciting way—with the release of a brand new film focused on the LGBTQ+ community!
In a landscape where blue collar jobs are the norm, odd jobs are becoming a life raft to LGBTQ+ Appalachians who want to survive the region's economy. The film Queer Jobs by Nik Lee centers on two young women—one a transgender woman and one who identifies as nonbinary—working customer service and hospitality jobs to afford basic necessities, like housing and education. Both women detail the benefits and challenges of working odd jobs in the region and what their dreams for the future look like.
Please join us on June 26th @ 8:30 PM EST at the Appalshop Solar Pavilion for the premiere screening of Queer Jobs! All are welcome, and we hope you will come out to join us!
BLOG EDIT: Queer Jobs is now available to watch in full on the Appalshop YouTube page!
While you wait for the premiere of Queer Jobs, you can explore our expansive LGBTQ+ film catalog from our youth media program The Appalachian Media Institute.
With the earliest film dating back to 1999 and the newest made just last summer in 2025, this catalog tells the true stories of LGBTQ+ Appalachians for the past 25+ years told through the lens of Appalachian youth. Take a look for yourself on the Appalshop YouTube page!
shop happenings
"pictureman" mullins exhibit | Storytelling Workshop |
WMMT phone app
"Pictureman" Mullins Exhibit:
A Community Homecoming Through Photography
If you attended Seedtime or stay up-to-date on our social media platforms, you probably heard that during Seedtime weekend we opened the doors to our 91 Madison building in downtown Whitesburg—for the first time since the July 2022 floods—and welcomed community members in to explore a special one-day exhibit of William “Pictureman” Mullins Photography, brought to life and installed by the Appalshop Archive, Sharayah Cochran, and Terri Weissman.
As guests explored our post-flood building and the exhibit, as well as viewed Nik Lee’s short film Strings about our Archive’s flood recovery, tears were shed, memories were shared, and reflections on our Appalachian history filled the space. It was a beautiful event we were proud to offer our community!
The “Pictureman” Mullins exhibit is now available again for public viewing at the Harry M. Caudill Memorial Library in downtown Whitesburg, where it will remain through September 2026. We hope you’ll take the opportunity to visit and experience this remarkable collection for yourself, which captures life in Southwest Virginia and Eastern Kentucky from the 1930s through the 1960s through the lens of one of our own.
video Storytelling Workshop: how to Building Trust and Communication
We are proud to be partnering with ReImagine Appalachia to host a video storytelling workshop on Thursday, July 16th @ noon EST via Zoom!
This workshop will provide practical video storytelling techniques that help communicate the diverse perspectives within Appalachia. This workshop will explore how to navigate divisive issues and portray regional challenges without reinforcing negative stereotypes.
Presenters will include Liam Gerrity, Communications Director of ReImagine Appalachia, and our own Appalshop film department team—Aaron Asbury, Film Program Manager, and Nik Lee, Internal Media Coordinator.
Register for this workshop by clicking HERE or the picture below!
the new wmmt app is here!
Have you heard the news? WMMT made an app, and you can download it now! Explore possum radio at the convenience of your phone or tablet!
See our daily program schedulesTune in LIVE & see what's coming up nextListen to past recorded showsWatch Appalshop films & videosLeave us a voice or written messageand more!
Now available on your app store of choice!
june's Pay-What-You-Want Album
A new month means a new Pay-What-You-Want album from the June Appal Recordings catalog! June's pick is "Uncle Charlie Osborne: The June Appal Recordings" by Uncle Charlie Osborne.
He and his brother, Emmett Osborne, were contemporaries of country music founders Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family. On one occasion, Johnny Cash was even Uncle Charlie's opening act! He released two original albums with June Appal—"Relics and Treasure" in 1985 and "One Hundred Years Farther On" in 1991. These recordings were remastered and reissued to create "The June Appal Recordings" in 2008.
You can listen and download this album for your own price on our Bandcamp page during the month of June!