Big Ideas Festival coming to Hazard, bringing music, food and conversation

HAZARD, Ky. (WYMT) - The Big Ideas Festival is coming to Hazard, and promises to be a three-day experience of insightful storytelling, arts and culture and community building.

The Festival starts on Thursday September 29, and runs through Saturday afternoon, Oct. 1.

“We’re going to be focusing on all kinds of things, including community resiliency, affordable housing, entrepreneurship, so a lot of conversations happening at once, but definitely some, for lack of a better word, Big Ideas floating around,” said Event Co-Coordinator Stacie Fugate.

There will be round-table talks, a documentary film screening and several keynote speakers, including the Poet Laureates of the United States and Kentucky.

“Come out, have a good time, celebrate Appalachia and challenge yourself to have community conversations that you may not have otherwise,” said Fugate.

The Festival will also include food trucks, booths and live music.

“Appalachia is a hot-bed for culture and good food and cuisine and just awesome people and that’s why people should care about it,” said Fugate. “Just bringing together all of those different facets of where we live and celebrating that.”

Headlining Saturday’s events, Caleb Bailey and the Bottom Dollars and Nick Jamerson and the Morning Jays will be performing at the Hazard Amphitheater next to City Hall, Friday, Sept. 30 at 7:30pm.

The Big Ideas Festival is presented by the ‘Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky’ and ‘Appalachians for Appalachia.’

All events are free and open to the public. For a list of events and their times, you can go here.

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