For me, 2022 has been the "return to normal" year. Mensa gatherings — yes! Science fictions conventions — sign me up! Wool festivals — I am there! This year I was especially fortunate. I was able to attend the three major east coast wool festivals — Maryland Sheep and Wool (MD), New York State Sheep and Wool (Rhinebeck), and Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF).
If you live close to one of these festivals, then attending is a short drive, the price of admission, and whatever you spend on shopping and possibly food. (If you need to keep costs down, you can bring your own brown bag lunch, trail rations, or the like,) If you do not live close, then attending can involve long drives or flying, possibly a car rental, and likely overnight accommodations. This can eat into your stash budget, converting precious dollars into things other than fleeces, yarn, dye stock, textile equipment, spectacular handmade clothing, workshop fees, and the like. Since a single trip to one of these is more likely to fit the typical budget and vacation schedule, I thought it might be useful to post an overview. What distinguishes each show? Why would you pick one over the other? What to expect?
Where:
This festival is at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship, Maryland. The location is at exit 80 just off I-70, about a 30-45 minute drive west of Baltimore or an hour's drive north of Washington, D.C. (I-70 borders the fairgrounds on its north side.) If flying, BWI, DCA, or IAD will all work.
When:
MD is the big spring show the first full weekend of May, making next year's dates Saturday and Sunday 6 & 7 May 2023. This will be extra special, as it will be the 50th festival. Workshops are held during the festival as well as the three days prior.
Admission:
Admission is $5 a day, although you can purchase online with an extra
handling fee. To encourage (indoctrinate?) our future fiber arts
crafters, children under 18 are free.
Parking:
Parking is in the fields. Sometimes the fields have been cut. Sometimes less so. Sometimes you will need to park a significant distance and walk as much as 15 minutes. Also, the nearest field is on a slope.
What to wear:
Because of the dates, the weather can be variable. Some years are cool, with temperatures only in the 50s. Other years have an early heat wave, pushing temperatures into the 80s. If you want to strut your handcrafted clothing, pack both a shawl and a sweater ready to adapt to whatever Mother Nature serves. The fairgrounds have some pavement, but there are unpaved areas, too. If there has been any recent rain, wear boots. There will be mud!
Overview:
The festival is primarily the work of the Maryland Sheep Breeders Association. Consequently, this is a very wool-focused event. In fact, this is so wool-focused that the Maryland Alpaca Breeders Association have a Maryland Alpaca and Fleece Festival at the same fairgrounds in November. This year it is coming up on the 12th and 13th. I haven't attended yet, but I might be able to stack this some year with a Thanksgiving trip to visit family in Pennsylvania. At MD, usually there is someone in the demonstration area spinning angora straight off a rabbit and maybe one vendor with live alpacas. In general, there are lots of sheep-focused farm products, including both fiber and meat. There are many farmers and live sheep. There are show rings. There are sheepdog demonstrations. There are two auctions — one for farm equipment and one for fiber equipment. There is a large fleece barn. There is sheep to shawl competition, spinning contest, demonstrations, workshops, lectures, a skein and garment show, storytelling, even music. There is a midway with lots of fair food as well as a few festival specialties (try the French artichokes). Of course, there is lots of shopping.
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| Heather Storta, Varian Brandon, & Jolie Elder at Rhinebeck 2022 |
The autumn version is the New York State Sheep & Wool Festival. (Their URL is sheepandwool.com.)
Where:
It is at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, New York. The fairgrounds are about a two-hour drive north of New York city, either
over surface streets or up I-87, then crossing the Hudson River via the
Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge. Rather than fly into JFW, LGA, or EWR, consider driving an hour south from Albany (ALB) or two hours from Hartford, Connecticut (BDL). Varian Brandon and I chose the BDL option. We thoroughly enjoyed the drive through colorful New England autumn countryside and charming towns. The drive was not a hardship.
When:
The show is in mid-October. Next year's dates are Saturday and
Sunday 21st and 22nd October 2023. The festival was established in 1980,
so is almost but not quite as venerable as MD. Workshops are held during the festival and two days prior.
Admission:
Admission is $12 + convenience fee ($13.50 total) per day if purchased online in advance, or $15 at the door. Children under 11 are free (sorry, teenagers).
Parking:
The fairgrounds have a mostly level gravel and grass parking area.
What to wear:
The weather is typically chilly in the morning with temperatures rising
into the 50s or 60s. Consequently, Rhinebeck is known for the "Rhinebeck
sweater" — the opportunity to strut a fantastic handmade garment before
an appreciative audience. I had a great time wandering around with Varian, who was wearing her Familiars shawl. Many knitters who appreciate colorwork came up to admire. The fairgrounds are mostly paved. While I haven't experienced this show in wet weather, I imagine it would be less prone to mud than MD.
Overview:
Rhinebeck is organized by the Dutchess County Sheep and Wool Growers Association. Unlike MD, they do not eschew competition from other fiber animals. There are plenty of live animals of many kinds and show rings. There is fiber as well as meat and milk products. There is lots of shopping, even a little more than MD. What I failed to comprehend on my first visit is the event schedule. Rhinebeck has lots of events — knitting competition with chopsticks, mohair judging on the goats, canine frisbee demonstrations, photography opportunities with animals, leaping llama contest, and more. They also have the usual staples — fleece to shawl, skein and garment, auction of both agricultural and fiber equipment, and fleece sale. Probably due to their proximity to New York and the publishing industry, there was a special area with books and authors. I had heard about the food — I did try an apple cider doughnut. On the downside, the town of Rhinebeck has a population of only about 8,000. It is charming; but it is also expensive. Even splitting a rental house with Heather and Varian, my share was more than $550. We ate out in the downtown one night. The meal was amazing, with a bill to match. My share was more than $50. The next night we ordered a pizza in Kingston and drove across the river to get it.
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| The Foldout Cat completes a custom art batt for an enthusiastic customer at SAFF 2022. |
The smaller autumn show but the largest in the southeast is Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair. (The URL is saffsite.org.)
Where:
The show is at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center in Fletcher, North Carolina. This is about 20-30 minutes south of Asheville, North Carolina, or an hour north of Greenville, South Carolina. Use Exit 40 off I-26, which borders the fairgrounds on the east. The fairgrounds are literally across the street from the Asheville Regional Airport (AVL). From a major airport, you could choose Greenville-Spartanburg (GSP — 1 hour drive) or Charlotte (CLT — 2 hour drive).
When:
This show is typically late October. For years, it shared half the fairgrounds with a tractor show the same weekend. For the last several years it has floated around the fourth or fifth weekend of October. Workshops are held during the festival and one day prior. Next year it is Friday 20 October through Sunday 22 October 2023. The eagle-eyed among you may notice a problem.
Admission:
Admission is $5 per day or $10 for a three-day pass. Youth under 13 are free (sorry again, teenagers). No advanced sales.
Parking:
Parking at the fairgrounds is paved and level.
What to wear:
While there is no "SAFF sweater" tradition, the temperature is usually close to freezing in the morning with afternoon highs in the mid-to-upper 60s or low 70s. As the fairgrounds are paved, mud is of minimal concern.
Overview:
This is a smaller show, but still has many of the elements you would expect. There are live animals of all kinds. There is a fleece sale, skein and garment show, sheep to shawl competition, workshops, demonstrations, dog herding, and the like. And there is shopping. There are not a lot of food options at the fairgrounds. As this is my "home show," I plan ahead by bringing a brown bag lunch. This show runs three days not four, giving you an extra day for shopping.
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| Sample locks from Gotland cross fleece purchased at Rhinebeck 2022. |
So — how do you pick?
Costs:
Rhinebeck is easily the most expensive of the three. If you are on a limited budget, MD or SAFF is likely a better choice.
Shopping:
All three have shopping. Rhinebeck has the most, followed closely by MD. SAFF has fewer vendors, but a fair amount of overlap with Rhinebeck and MD. There are some vendors who only attend one of these three. For example, there was paco-vicuña at Rhinebeck. I don't recall seeing that at MD or SAFF. Certain spinning wheel manufacturers are at one show but not another. However, most of the major crafting items you might want to purchase are at all three shows. If you are simply seeking beautiful hand-dyed sock yarn or spinning fiber, pretty much any fiber festival will have something delightful. Next year will be tricky, since Rhinebeck and SAFF are the same weekend. The Universe has a peculiar sense of humor. Vendors will need to choose. On the other hand, maybe some vendors who haven't been able to get into one of those shows might be able to get off the waiting list? This scheduling crash could be a disaster, or it could create new opportunities.
Food:
This is easy to rate. Rhinebeck is definitely the best, followed by MD, with SAFF a distant third. I know SAFF is trying to get food trucks from Asheville to come over to the fairgrounds, but apparently they have pretty good business in downtown Asheville. On the other hand, Asheville has a good food scene. You can find excellent food offsite in North Carolina. And while the food both onsite and off at Rhinebeck is excellent, it is also expensive. Even at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds, I paid $20 for a lamb sandwich — sliced lamb on a bun, plus I could top it with barbecue sauce. No side of chips or pickle or French fries.
Fleece sale:
This is harder to rate. MD has the best selection because it is the spring clip. Most shepherds would rather shear going into the warm weather. On the other hand, Rhinebeck judges their fleeces before the show. Every bag has either a blue dot (meaning a top score of 5 on all six metrics) or a red dot (meaning it did not score 5 on at least one metric). If you are a new spinner and still learning, this can be helpful. On the other hand, I've found some bargains at MD and SAFF. I passed up a $35 fleece this year at SAFF. It had good ping, but was very dirty. It might have been bad underneath, or it might have been a secret gem waiting to shine after a date with Unicorn Power Scour. The fleece I bought at Rhinebeck is gorgeous. It is the nicest fleece I have ever purchased, but also the most expensive. For fleece selection, go to MD. For bargains, look at SAFF. For upfront intelligence, Rhinebeck, but go to the fleece sale before you do anything else, as it gets picked over before lunchtime.
Workshops:
This varies by year. MD has less workshop space, so has a smaller selection. SAFF has a lot of workshop space, but tends to pick regional rather than national teachers. Still, there are years when SAFF has had Judith MacKenzie or Abby Franquemont. One of the best sessions I ever attended at SAFF was watching Judith judge the fleece show. This is a toss-up. Look at offerings for each festival. Whether the slate of workshops is awesome or not will be highly personal.
Used equipment:
Both MD and Rhinebeck have auctions. SAFF, sadly, does not. However, if you are in the southeast, Carolina Fiber Fest (Raleigh, early March) or Blue Ridge Fiber Fest (Sparta, NC, early June) do. An equipment auction can be an opportunity to acquire looms or wheels at a budget price. If you are looking to get into the hobby, bring a knowledgeable friend who can help you figure out if the equipment is still in working order or what repairs might be required.
Accessibility:
If you are someone who has trouble getting around, pick SAFF. MD and Rhinebeck are both huge shows. They require lots and lots of walking, much of it up and down hills. SAFF is smaller, but most of it is on level ground. You'll need to go uphill to get to the animals, but there's enough parking you could drive your car over to the animal barn.
Activities:
Both MD and Rhinebeck have lots of activities. Heather told me about the llama leap at Rhinebeck. It's the opposite of limbo, with animals needing to leap over a higher and higher bar. Rhinebeck also has an animal parade. These activities are great for getting farmers and consumers to interact. Maryland has a music stage. Both Rhinebeck and Maryland have a book signing area. SAFF has less of this. On the other hand, some of the vendors make up for it by having demonstrations. One SAFF vendor this year was marbling scarves right in her booth! From having helped run Mensa events, I am sure part of the challenge is having volunteers willing to make activities happen. If they can find a few enthusiastic volunteers, I think SAFF could borrow a few ideas from MD and Rhinebeck.
Animals:
Rhinebeck has the most. If you like sheep, MD is fine. If you want something other than sheep, Rhinebeck or SAFF. This year, SAFF had fewer animals than usual. I hope they will be back up to their regular full mix next year.
Wherever you live, a fiber festival is a fantastic opportunity to learn new skills, meet the people and animals behind the fiber, enhance your stash, be inspired, and make happy memories!
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