The 2025 Dry Stone Walling Competition and Festival will take place from October 2-4, 2025, at the Lower Howard’s Creek Nature and Heritage Preserve in Winchester, Kentucky. The event, hosted by the Dry Stone Conservancy (DSC) and The Stone Trust, includes workshops, tool demonstrations, tours, and a competition for all skill levels.

Workshops and Activities

The festival starts on Thursday with free, two-day workshops. The beginner's workshop is led by Nick Aitken and Zach Goebelt and is limited to 16 participants and advanced registration is required. An advanced fence arch building workshop, led by Martin Beevers and Dan Morales-Walsh, is available for those who have previously taken a workshop with the DSC or The Stone Trust and is at capacity. Reach out to dscadmin@drystone.org to get on the waitlist. Space is extremely limited so please only sign up for one of these workshops if you can 100% attend.

Attendees can also enjoy:

  • Competitor practice with native Kentucky Limestone on Thursday and Friday.

  • Tool demonstrations and sales by Trow and Holden on Friday.

  • Guided tours of historic dry stone structures at Lower Howard's Creek and a nearby historic quarry.

  • A welcome reception on Friday and a celebratory BBQ dinner on Saturday.

  • Free camping at a nearby historic stone site! Reach out to russell@drystone.org for more information on that

  • Opportunities for DSC and DSWA certification, pending confirmation.

Walling Competition

The main event is the walling competition on Saturday, October 4th, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Competitors will strip down and rebuild a section of a 4-foot high wall in 8 hours. Click here to sign up! The competition has three classes:

  • Novice: Rebuild 4 linear feet of wall.

  • Amateur: Rebuild 5 linear feet of wall.

  • Professional: Rebuild 6 linear feet of wall.

Competition specifications will be based on the 2019 event. Lunch will be provided for competitors, followed by a BBQ dinner and awards ceremony with bluegrass bands at 5:30pm. Non-competitors can purchase a BBQ plate for $20. To assist with a general headcount, please pre-purchase dinner tickets by clicking here, if possible.

IMPORTANT: Camping is available for competitors with small trailers, cars, and tents. Unfortunately, there is no room for any larger RVs to even turn around at the bottom of the hill OR make it across the single lane bridge to reach the camping site. If you have a larger RV let us know and we can point you in the right direction. Reach out to russell@drystone.org for more information on that.

Contact

For more information, you can contact:

  • Russell Waddell at russell@drystone.org

  • Dan Morales-Walsh at dan.morales-walsh@thestonetrust.org