Our neighbors to the south are in need of our support and donations. Recent flooding in Eastern Kentucky left many families homeless, destroyed local cultural and educational centers, and left many survivors mourning their loved ones. Please join us in raising funds and other donations that will help our neighbors as they try to recover from their extreme loss. All proceeds from this fundraiser will benefit the Hindman Settlement School. Ron Pen will emcee the event and will talk about Hindman Settlement School and the importance of their work to the people of Eastern Kentucky.

Your purchase of tickets for the concert and any donations will directly support Hindman Settlement School. Donations of more than $100 will be entered into a raffle drawing for the following exciting items:

• Penny Sisto quilt hanging – “Hat”
• A landscape painting from Fr. Vince Petersen
• A watercolor painting from artist, Andrew Hardin
• A weekend at Mount St. Francis’s Hermitage retreat
• Pottery creation from potter, Marty Edlin

Traditional musicians, na Skylark, Ron Pen, and John Harrod & Tona Barkley will perform Celtic, bluegrass, and traditional mountain music during the evening.

All proceeds of this event will be donated to the Hindman Settlement School

Hindman Settlement School:

The Settlement School’s mission is to provide education and service opportunities for people of the mountains while keeping them mindful of their heritage. While our mission has remained the same since our founding in 1902, our programs have evolved over time to meet the changing needs of the region.

The Settlement’s major work today includes education and service programs that address the critical educational needs of the region’s youth, promote cultural awareness, and address emerging health and food insecurity issues through increased access to nutritious, locally-grown foods.

na Skylark

na Skylark, which loosely means “the Skylark” in Irish, is a Central-Kentucky-based trio that shares the rich beauty of ancient traditional Celtic music through voice, Irish harp, Irish uilleann pipes, Irish fiddle, Irish whistles, flutes, Irish bodhran, and a little Appalachian mountain dulcimer for good measure.

Ron Pen

Director of the John Jacob Niles Center for American Music
Professor of Musicology at the University of Kentucky
Organist and Choirmaster
Fiddler in various string bands

Specialties: traditional Appalachian Music
American Music History

John Harrod and Tona Barkley of “Kentucky Wild Horse”

Kentucky Wild Horse takes its name from an old Eastern Kentucky fiddle tune that was played by Wolfe County fiddler Darley Fulks (1895-1990). Kentucky’s older music traditions are the inspiration for this talented group of veteran singers and instrumentalists. Their repertory consists of old-time and bluegrass songs, fiddle tunes learned from the many older Kentucky musicians they have known over the years and newer original songs that reflect life in the region today.