We’ve Been Nominated! Community Minded Group of the Year!

Ozarks Alive Rock Pickin Awards are designed to celebrate people and organizations in the Ozark region who are preserving our history, sharing our culture and creating community. Living Lands Collective is honored to have been nominated for the Community Minded Group of the Year! 

The process is underway, our application submitted, and while we wait for the committee to make the final choice, we are feeling incredibly grateful that people in the community chose us for this category. Our mission at Living Lands Collective is to preserve and promote the rich arts of our region. We believe that through creative endeavors people can connect with their roots, connect with their own sense of self and wellbeing, and connect with the community around them.  As many of our regional artisans age, it is important that we preserve the knowlegde and the skills and the beauty of thier lives and work.  The Collective fosters a place where everyone in the community can enjoy some of the amazing art created by Ozark residents, in addition to getting their hands dirty with some creative fun!

It truly means a lot to be nominated and to be a part of the work that Ozarks Alive does in the region.  Kaitlyn’s stories about the Ozarks keep our rich culture alive and present for all of us. Missouri has a long and varied history (in so far as a young country can have a long history) and it’s fascinating reading about all the tucked away places that Kaitlyn finds and the people in the region who have or are making a difference in our communities.  

Kaitlyn’s catalogue of stories is extensive! Whether you are a native or transplant, these stories foster the Ozark sense of place and time and being. They lend a sense of belonging and help us all understand who we are and where we came from. These stories strengthen our Ozark roots. For “transplants” who have fallen in love with the region and its magic, the stories help define it’s character and helps to put words to the mystique that draws hundreds of new folks here each year. Just like our family stories help bind us, Ozarks Alive helps ground us and connect us all as a larger community with a shared sense of history and place. 

We encourage all of you to visit the Ozarks Alive website, read the stories, sign up for the newsletter, and support Kaitlyn’s work. Attend one of her Folk Lure Exchange programs or purchase a book or one of the awesome t-shirts!