We had an action-packed week with a lot of variety. Check out some of our highlights from last week.
Coal Country Candles
Coal Country Candles has officially opened at its new location in Downtown Hazard! And, to make things better, they’re under the same roof as Appalachian Apparel and Shenanigans.
They also launched their candle subscription box on Friday, April 1st. No April Fools here. Customers can automatically subscribe to receive candles every month, offering ease of access to the product and simplifying the consumer journey.
When you’re in Downtown Hazard, make sure to stop by Coal Country Candles for some awesome homemade smell goods.
Lunar IceCube Launch
Morehead State is heading to space!
Or, at least, one of its satellites is.
The Lunar IceCube was delivered to NASA’s Kentucky Space Center to be installed on the Artemis I mission. The tentative launch is set for June of this year. The satellite will use a plasma drive propulsion system to take it on a circuitous route to the moon. It will orbit and investigate the transportation physics of water ice on the lunar surface to support a lunar outpost that NASA plans to develop. If there is enough water to support humans, it could mean more space exploration!
The Lunar IceCube team includes several faculty and staff members of the Space Science Center and more than 50 students at Morehead State, in addition to a small number of scientists and engineers from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the NASA Independent Verification and Validation Center and the Busek Space Propulsion company.
The mission will last 18 months, and the spacecraft will orbit the moon hundreds of times. The Mission Operations Center (MOC) in the Space Science Center will operate the mission.
For more information about the mission, click HERE.
Movie shot in Corbin getting attention
We love local talent! Especially when local talent comes back home!
Matthew Smithley returned to his hometown of Corbin last year to shoot a short film. Filming went well and Smithley used fifty extras from the surrounding counties in his film. To thank the City of Corbin, Smithley released his film at the Tri-County Cineplex in November.
The name of the film is “The Arbors.” It centers on the last bus ride of the school year. Walker, recovering from a recent traumatic event, meets a deeply troubled kid named Noah. The two form an unlikely friendship that eventually leads to something dangerous.
Recently, “The Arbors” has been chosen as an “official selection” for two film festivals, Montreal Independent Film Festival and the 28th Annual Twin Rivers Media Festival. It has also been chosen as the finalist for several other festivals. Smithley and his team are awaiting those results.
Right now, the film can only be seen in film festivals, but we hope that it will make another appearance at the Tri-County Cineplex soon!
University of the Cumberlands Pitch Competition
The University of the Cumberlands hosted its annual student Entrepreneurship Pitch Contest on Tuesday, March 29th. Cole Atkinson, Innovation Champion, had the honor of judging some of the amazing students who pitched.
In the contest, seven student teams pitched their businesses to a team of judges with the goal of winning a grand prize of $1,000. The teams had been preparing their business ideas and pitches over the past four months in a series of entrepreneurial “boot camps” held at the new business incubator space at Marketplace on Main & 3rd in downtown Williamsburg.
This year’s winner was Gus Bourff with his product Kitchen Guard. We can’t wait to see this young man grow his business!