, at 1040 Vernon St. in Huntington, in partnership with the Appalachian Reuse Hub, will host the Spring Cleaning for Creative Reuse: Eco Swap and Collection event from 5-9 p.m. Thursday, March 20, 2025.
, at 1040 Vernon St. in Huntington, in partnership with the Appalachian Reuse Hub, will host the Spring Cleaning for Creative Reuse: Eco Swap and Collection event from 5-9 p.m. Thursday, March 20, 2025.
HUNTINGTON Ƶ The West Edge Factory and Appalachian Reuse Hub have come up with a fun and artistic way to reuse items that might normally turn into litter or trash.
It is called the Creative Use Festival, and the inaugural event will happen on Saturday, Aug. 10, from 12 to 6 p.m. at the West Edge Factory arts hub located at 1040 Vernon St. on the west side of Huntington.
At this free event, attendees will be encouraged to learn innovative ways to create cool things out of items meant for the rubbish bin, according to Baleigh Epperly, who is the associate director of Creative Reuse for the Coalfield Development organization.
ƵThis is our first big event of this nature, and we are excited,Ƶ said Epperly. ƵThis festival is an opportunity for the community to gather and creatively re-imagine discarded or reusable materials by means of repurposing, repairing, reinventing and upcycling these items, transforming them into new products and artwork. First off, when you walk in, we will have a sign-in table where you can buy a raffle ticket if you desire, where you can win tote bags full of prizes. Then, while there, you can also sign up for a composting workshop, and that will have a 25-person limit. Ultimately, this event is a fundraiser to help us build our Community MakerƵs Space, and to just have fun and educate folks on the possibilities of creative reuse.Ƶ
There will be a food truck on hand and a Recycled Art Show will be going on at the gallery along with live music and 19 eco-friendly art vendors.
Mainly, the fun will be had with the multiple workshops presented on Saturday.
ƵAlong with the composting workshop, we will also have an Eco-Swap area, where you can bring old items and trade them for other items that you may want, whether it be used art supplies or clothes or anything you think someone else could use,Ƶ said Epperly. ƵThere will also be a paper-making station where folks can learn how to literally make your own paper. We will have a wood upcycling station run by the Reclaim Appalachia group, which is our Coalfield DevelopmentƵs reconstruction crew, and we will also have a Fix It café where you can bring an item in and learn how to repair it. We will also have a workshop on making garden lamps out of old wine bottles and more.Ƶ
The paper-making station should prove to be uniquely interesting.
ƵJoe Cox, who works with us here at Coalfield Development organization while being a print technician for Mountain Mindful and runs the JoeƵs Public Press store in the Old Central City District, he will host this workshop,Ƶ said Epperly. ƵBasically, you gather up paper that you may normally shred or old books that have been water damaged or other paper items, and you blend them to a pulp and you put it in a tub of water. Then, you will use a wooden frame that has mesh in it that you will use to scoop up the pulp, turn it over on a table, and then dry it out and after all of that is done, you will have made new paper that you can use.Ƶ
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