May 20, 2026 - The CEDAR Regional Coal Fair is underway in Kentucky at the University of Pikeville celebrating the region by recognizing its history and looking toward its future.

The fair is going back to its roots for the first time in years, according to Karen Hamilton, CEDAR Regional Coal Fair manager.

“Everyone’s happy to be back, looking at what’s been the driver of our economy over the years,” Hamilton said.

Karen Hamilton

The organization spent 27 years devoted to coal education and celebration but altered its programming as the industry turned, focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship. Now, with a renewed Friends of Coal partnership, those two missions have merged.

“That’s one of the things that we strongly encourage,” said Hamilton. “We want to develop an entrepreneurial spirit in students and see them able to succeed and, through those successes, bring our community forward into the future.”

This year’s fair includes 44 healthcare career projects and 207 coal-related projects, focusing on the history of the industry in the mountains and reimagining a track forward. Projects span several different categories, including art, science, math, English and literature, music, social studies, and technology and multimedia.

“Destiny in this region is in the hands of our students and it’s important for them to understand the past so that they can have a pathway going forward to the future,” Hamilton said.

Organizers say the program has been a valuable way to teach a new generation about the heart of the region, working with students, K-12, in five different counties.

“We have a lot of kids in school who have never had coal education before,” Hamilton said.

The fair also gives the older generation a glimpse at the future through the eyes of those who are now building it.

“And I hope the public will come and take an opportunity to see what our students have done and the wonderful things that are going on in the classrooms here in Eastern Kentucky,” Hamilton said.

The fair is open to the public between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. through Thursday on the seventh floor of the University of Pikeville’s Health Professions Education Building.