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The Headwaters Arts Festival is coming back to the Harlan Center on Saturday, May 17. The festival is designed to provide an exciting day for artists, musicians, and all other folks who enjoy the different sights and sounds of multiple types of art.

This is the second installment of the Headwaters Arts Festival. In a previous report, City of Harlan Tourism Director Brandon Pennington explained getting the festival up and running took a few years.

“This festival is one we’ve been getting off the ground for about four years now,” Pennington said prior to the inaugural Headwaters Arts Festival. “We had been working with the Harlan Hiking Club to establish a chalk art festival. They wanted to focus on chalk art, so we started planning in the winter of 2019.”

Before the event could happen the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, stalling plans for any events for some time.

“We tried again the following year, but we couldn’t generate a lot of interest because of COVID concerns,” Pennington said. “Last year, we postponed it until we had everything gathered together and we could proceed forward.”

According to the City of Harlan Tourism’s social media outlets, this year’s Headwaters Arts Festival will happen on Saturday, May 17, from noon until 6 p.m. at the Harlan Center. The event will include local artists and musicians putting their talents on display for all to enjoy. In addition, there will be vendors providing a wide selection of food, drinks, crafts, and other merchandise available for purchase.

Artists wishing to take part in the art competition should submit their piece to the Harlan Center by May 13, to be included in the festival gallery. During the event, the public will cast their votes for their favorite work of art. Voting will end at 5:30 p.m., and the winners will be announced following the final live music performance of the day.

The live music kicks off with Sam Eplin at noon. Tyler Smith, who many know through his long tenure with local favorites The Kudzu Killers, will be taking the stage next at 1 p.m. Chelsea Nolan will hit the stage at 2 p.m., with Cody Howard taking over the music duties at 3 p.m. The Mountain Laurels will bring their music to life at 4 p.m. Cody Lee Meece will close out the show, beginning his set at 5 p.m.

For those wishing to be a vendor at the festival, applications can be found at https://www.harlancountytrails.com or picked up at the Harlan Center.

For more information, call 606-573-4495.