INFORMATION

Sheep & Fiber Fest celebrates heritage of local lamb and wool industry

Get ready for sheep-shearing, wool-spinning, dog-shepherding fun as the Annual Waynesburg Sheep & Fiber Festival descends on the Greene County Fairgrounds Saturday and Sunday, the third weekend in May, annually. The festival, which is coordinated by Waynesburg Prosperous & Beautiful, celebrates the heritage of lamb, wool and fibers in Greene County.

The hours are 10:00 am to 5:00 pm with both days packed full. The festival schedule includes a juried crafts show and sale featuring vendors from throughout the northeast region, many demonstrating and selling fiber-related wares. A huge selection of fiber (fleece & yarns) and fibers arts supplies will also be plentiful for purchase from vendors. A fleece show and private treaty sale will be held on Saturday.

No need to travel to Harrisburg to witness the popular “fleece to shawl” competition which will also be staged on Saturday. This demo features several teams in a timed competition to create a finished piece of woolen apparel. Spectators see the process from the cleaning and carding of the fleeces straight from the animal, then spinning and weaving into the finished shawl, all in one quick assembly-line operation. Several spinners and weavers guilds participate, and the finished shawls are offered at auction to festival attendees.

There is also a fiber arts contest and exhibit open to the general public with various categories for knit, crochet, felt and woven articles with divisions for youth, beginners and advanced. There is also a hand spun yarn competition. Entry forms for craft exhibitors, as well as a complete schedule of events for the weekend.

A breed pavilion will display more than a dozen breeds and types of live sheep; alpacas and fiber breed rabbits will also be on display. Visitors will have a chance to watch live demonstrations of a professional sheep shearing and sheep-herding dogs performing their amazing talents.

Those interested in learning the best techniques and recipes for preparing lamb will be treated to several lamb cooking demonstrations by renowned area chefs. These demos will be offered several times each day. Not only do you get to watch and learn – you get to sample! Plenty of taste testing will be offered throughout the weekend.

Other activities include live musical entertainment and children’s interactive fiber related activities.

For more information on the Sheep & Fiber Fest, please visit www.sheepandfiber.com, or call Waynesburg Prosperous & Beautiful at 724-627-8119. You may also email msm@waynesburgpa.org.

Waynesburg Prosperous and Beautiful is a nonprofit, Main Street program that operates in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Downtown Center. Funded by the state Department of Community and Economic Development, Waynesburg Prosperous and Beautiful represents a community endeavor to preserve and revitalize historic downtown Waynesburg and raise awareness of the educational, cultural and historical opportunities, as well as the convenience of shopping, associated with the town.