Growing Greenup Ticket Handcrafted Weekend Part 1 of 3

Growing Greenup

Ticket Handcrafted Weekend

Part 1 of 3

Anne Stephens

The Quilt Show at Greenbo Lake State Resort Park is a long-standing Greenup County tradition. In 2023, the Greenup County Quilt Guild partnered with the Greenup Extension Community Arts Program and Greenup County Tourism to grow and expand the quilt show into a whole lodge artisan demonstration event we call Handcrafted Weekend that takes place on the second Saturday in April every year at the Jesse Stuart Lodge.

April 11 and 12 are the dates for 2026 – mark your calendar – admission is FREE! This week’s Growing Greenup column is part one of a three-part series all about Handcrafted Weekend 2026. Saturday will begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at 6:00 p.m. with live music starting at 5:00 p.m. in the lobby in front of the fireplace. Music will be old-time style and will likely last into the evening with a jam session that you can join as a player or an audience member. Sunday will begin at noon and close at 3:00 p.m. All are welcome!

This is an open to the public, free admission, family friendly event at our very own state park – right here close to home in Greenup County. While we encourage you to come ready for some great shopping, the focus of this event is education and experience. The lodge will be filled with displays and demonstrations. You will see items at various stages of the “making” process and get to meet the artisan while watching them work. Each booth will also have a hands-on area where you can try your own hand at some of the heritage skills featured at this event.

Have you ever watched someone macramé before? Weave a custom blanket? Carve a wooden caricature? Build an instrument? Make jewelry out of hammered metal? Forge a knife blade? How about glassblowing? We are super excited to announce that Blenko Glass from West Virginia is our special guest for 2026! They will be glassblowing all day on Saturday. Everything they make they will give away! You can also purchase items from their display booth. You’ll see them working out in front of the lodge alongside Dave Lovins/The Hammer’s Fall hand-forging knives and other blacksmith items.   

Have you ever met an alpaca? They are beautiful and quirky creatures! Kevin Toney is the owner/operator of Silver Run Ranch. He is the caretaker for a herd of alpacas that he sheers, spins the wool into yarn, uses natural dyes to make beautiful new colors, and weaves custom pieces that will amaze you! Kevin will display this process – including a couple of his friendly alpacas, and the frames he uses to weave scarves, hat cords, shawls, pashminas, serapes, and blankets much like frontier families did in Appalachia in early Colonial time. You’ll love watching him turn the soft, warm yarn into artwork! You can also make purchases or place custom orders.  

Fiber art takes on many different forms in Appalachia! This, of course, includes quilting which will be on full display on the first floor conference room at the lodge. You’ll see hand applique, paper piecing, hand quilting, hand embroidery, machine quilting, flip & sew, and binding.

Upstairs in the former gift shop, now called the Oldtown Room, you’ll see crochet, knitting, and cross stitch. As you make your way down the long hallway and around the lobby, you’ll also see macramé, basketmaking, woodcarving, metalworking, knifemaking, jewelry making, stained glass, and pottery/ceramics.

In the main lobby, luthiers will be working on instrument building. CW Parsons and Co will be building guitars, John Ryster will be building fiddles, Michael Garvin will be doing fiddle repair and showing his cigar box instruments, and Jeff Lambert will be making dulcimers. Each artisan will have finished items as well as guitars, fiddles, and dulcimers in various stages of the building process. If you have ever considered buying a custom instrument, this is the perfect opportunity to meet a specialized artisan and talk with them about the process of making a custom purchase!

Many of the artisans at this event are fairly local to Greenup County. Some, like Jill Robertson is a special guest who has become an expected favorite! Her brand, Appalachia's Daughter is, at its core, an Eastern Kentucky Artist gone rogue. Jill primarily creates artistic pieces inspired by meandering brambles, thoughtful and timeless mountain creggs, riverbanks that welcome the alien world of crayfish and adventurous roots; Appalachian scenery reflective of Eastern Kentucky. After a truly well-traveled childhood, she came to live in Chavies, Kentucky at age 12. Through her amazing network of family and friends, she grew her roots in Eastern Kentucky as a community organizer for non-profits where her dedication to community spirit flourished. She was awarded the 2018 Kentucky Foundation for Women Activism Grant that afforded her the opportunity to become a full-time artist. Part of an award-winning team for the Welding Rodeo, she has never been afraid of playing with fire or picking up hitchhikers, though not necessarily at the same time. https://appalachiasdaughter.com/pages/about Come and meet Jill, watch her work, and talk with her about her unique experiences as a Kentucky artists!

Jenn Amburgey has been part of Handcrafted Weekend before and will be demonstrating painting and sculpture. She will also be coordinating and facilitating a group art project that you can be part of. Come and see what she helps us create!

Call the lodge 606.473.7324 to find out about weekend specials that may just make you want to turn Handcrafted Weekend into a mini vacation! The Angler’s Cove restaurant will be open with their famous buffet on Saturday 11:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. and Sunday 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

  Live music on Saturday will be hosted by John Ryster and will feature Old-Time string music in a family jam-style setting starting at 5:00 p.m. The “stage” will be in front of the fireplace with comfortable seating in the lobby. Bring your instrument and join in! All are welcome and listeners are appreciated. The jam will continue on Sunday afternoon too. Music, food, art, friends, and fun! Bring your family and make the short trip to Greenbo and enjoy all that our community has to offer.

  Be sure to read next week’s column, part two in the three part series, dedicated to Handcrafted Weekend. For more information, contact Anne Stephens, Agent for Community Arts and Development in Greenup County. 606.836.0201 anne.stephens@uky.edu Greenup County Cooperative Extension Service, 35 Wurtland Avenue, Wurtland, KY 41144. This institution is an Equal Opportunity Provider.