The Mountain Workshops

Website Contact the school

The Mountain Workshops Western Kentucky University's annual Mountain Workshops teaching visual storytelling through a variety of media.

THE MOUNTAIN WORKSHOPS


The Mountain Workshops are five concurrently-running programs. The Workshops are held each year in a small town in Kentucky. Participants document a story about people in the county and receive intensive critiques from nationally recognized professional visual journalists. Participants are responsible for their own travel arrangements, lodging and food. Participants, other than picture editing, must have their own transportation during the workshops. Please visit http://mountainworkshops.org/about/


To apply go to:
mountainworkshops.org

You can follow us on...
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/MountainWorkshops/

Twitter:


Instagram:
mtnworkshops

and our website:
http://mountainworkshops.org/about/

FAMILY, COMMUNITY AND GIVING BACK by Becki Moss | Auckland, New ZealandWhile Vickie Prather, 67, prepares dinner for the...
10/02/2026

FAMILY, COMMUNITY AND GIVING BACK by Becki Moss | Auckland, New Zealand
While Vickie Prather, 67, prepares dinner for the extended family, Terry Prather, plays with their grandson, Bentley Waller, 6, in their Mays Lick home. The Prathers moved to their Mays Lick home in 1983. Their two adult children, Josh Prather, 43, and Deana Waller, 35, and three grandchildren, live nearby. Vickie and Terry are devoted to their family and their Mays Lick community. In addition to helping to care for Bentley, they give rides to neighbors and buy food for their church. Beginning on Labor Day weekend each year, the couple start preparing the model trains Terry collects for the Christmas shows. More than 100 people come through Terry’s workshop each year to see his train layout, a replica of Maysville.

View the full story and photographs at mountainworkshops .org
See all our stories from the 2025 Mountain Workshops in Maysville & Mason County, KY.

COMING HOME TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE by Jack Cheasty | Clarksville, TNKaleigh Zeigler enjoys a moment with her grandmother, ...
10/01/2026

COMING HOME TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE by Jack Cheasty | Clarksville, TN

Kaleigh Zeigler enjoys a moment with her grandmother, Debbie Workman, at a cousin’s volleyball game. After graduating from Western Kentucky University, Kaleigh returned to Maysville, where she grew up, to work within a network of state agencies called Area Development Districts. There she is a liaison, an overseer, a planner and a facilitator who, without fuss or fanfare, helps to keep the wheels of progress turning for five counties and 11 cities within the Buffalo Trace along the Ohio River. “I love my community,” Kaleigh said. “I like being involved and now I know I can make a difference.”

View the full story and photographs on mountainworkshops .org
See all our stories from the 2025 Mountain Workshops in Maysville & Mason County, KY.

A TRAVELER FINDS HIS COMMUNITY by Estaban Marenco | North Bergen, NJWhile tending to his restaurant in Flemingsburg, Rud...
09/30/2026

A TRAVELER FINDS HIS COMMUNITY by Estaban Marenco | North Bergen, NJ
While tending to his restaurant in Flemingsburg, Rudy (Rodolfo) Lopez takes a break to have lunch with the women in his life at his brother Onesimo’s home. From left are his daughter, Elizabeth Ignacio; his sister-in-law, Jessica Cervantes-Madrigal; his wife, Irma; and his mother, Agustina Lopez. Sister-in-law Mary Perez is in the center. Rudy named his Mexican restaurant El Caminante, which means “the traveler” in Spanish. It symbolized the immigrant’s journey that brought him to Maysville, where his restaurant has become a popular community institution. El Caminante provides free meals to first responders and people in need and has donated daily profits on occasion for community fundraising drives, such as those to help people with medical bills.

View the full story and photographs - mountainworkshops .org
See all our stories from the 2025 Mountain Workshops in Maysville & Mason County, KY.

KEEPING HISTORY CURRENT by Joe Klein | Long Beach, NYHistory is a way of life for Mark Humphries, who not only reenacts ...
09/28/2026

KEEPING HISTORY CURRENT by Joe Klein | Long Beach, NY

History is a way of life for Mark Humphries, who not only reenacts and shares local history of frontier days with tourists, but also uses social media to demonstrate the importance history has on current times. Students watch as Mark Humphries dry fires a Kentucky long gun inside of Mefford’s Fort. Mark’s fascination with black powder guns began in 2016 when he was given a musket. A year later, Mark started a YouTube channel, “Black Powder Maniac Shooter,” to educate others and connect to the black powder gun community. “It’s about the love of teaching and showing others what early Kentucky was like before it was a state,” he said.

See all our stories from the 2025 Mountain Workshops in Maysville & Mason County, KY. Link in our Bio.

.photo

A MAN IN MOTION by Jesse Hollon | Beattyville, KYA Mason County native, Kyle Carpenter joined the Maysville Fire Departm...
09/25/2026

A MAN IN MOTION by Jesse Hollon | Beattyville, KY
A Mason County native, Kyle Carpenter joined the Maysville Fire Department in 2012, serving the community in a succession of roles there before becoming fire chief in 2024. As the 10th chief in the department’s 115-year history, Kyle oversees an extended family of 30 full- and part-time firefighters, paramedics and emergency medical technicians. This “second family” is responsible for responding not only to fires in Maysville, but also to all of Mason County’s medical emergencies. The Maysville Fire Department got its start in September of 1910, and Kyle has decorated his office to reflect its long and rich history.

View the full story and photographs visit our website (mountain workshops. org)

PASTOR TO THE RESCUE by Nyle Leddy | Washington DCFamily members and friends gather on Wednesday evenings for Bible stud...
09/24/2026

PASTOR TO THE RESCUE by Nyle Leddy | Washington DC
Family members and friends gather on Wednesday evenings for Bible study led by Tony Leiss as part of his pastor duties at First Baptist Church. The father of nine children with his wife, Christi, and grandfather of 17, Tony has always put others first. “I feel kind of that responsibility for the community,” he said. Tony also serves as chaplain of the Maysville Police Department, and since 2022, as emergency management director of Mason County. Responding to emergencies requires Tony to be on call 24/7 yet he still makes time for his pastoral duties and his family. When Tony comes home after a full day of work, his grandchildren are excited to see their grandfather whom they lovingly refer to as “Tappy.”

View the full story and photographs - on our website (mountain workshops. org)

WHERE HOPE STILL LIES by Nia Meyers | Prince George’s County, MDBridget Satkowski holds Biscuit, a rescue kitten, after ...
09/21/2026

WHERE HOPE STILL LIES by Nia Meyers | Prince George’s County, MD

Bridget Satkowski holds Biscuit, a rescue kitten, after a long day that included a stressful vet visit and her car breaking down. Since 2022, Bridget, 51, has rescued and adopted out around 250 kittens through Friends of Mason County & Surrounding Counties’ Animals, a small group she runs with her friend, Karen Hopkins. Bridget said the cats fill a void that includes loss of her newborn first daughter many years ago and more recently, of her father. Her Facebook bio reads, “Fueled by faith, love and kittens.”
View the entire story on our website in the archive at (mountain workshops. org)

LOCAL JAIL AIMS TO REHABILITATE by Daniel Dreifuss | San Diego, CAErica Earlywine, a first-time offender serving a 10-ye...
09/20/2026

LOCAL JAIL AIMS TO REHABILITATE by Daniel Dreifuss | San Diego, CA
Erica Earlywine, a first-time offender serving a 10-year sentence, has been at the Mason County Detention Center since July 2025. In addition to working in the facility’s kitchen, she participates in programs designed to prepare inmates to cope with life after release. According to the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, the programs are significantly impacting recidivism rates. Erica is determined not end up back in jail and is participating in as many programs as possible. “It’s just opened my eyes to so much,” she said.

View the full story and photographs - https://archive.mountainworkshops.org/history/null/30462
See all our stories from the 2025 Mountain Workshops in Maysville & Mason County, KY. https://archive.mountainworkshops.org/history/2025


Address

Bowling Green, KY

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Mountain Workshops posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The School

Send a message to The Mountain Workshops:

Shortcuts

Share

Category