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The Wool Festival at 26th Annual will be held October 3
& 4, 2009
9am – 5pm
on Saturday and 9am – 4pm on Sunday Immerse yourself in
the more than 400 years of wool tradition as New Mexico, Colorado and Texas
breeders and fiber artists celebrate the 26th year of the Taos Wool Festival
on October 3 and 4. Join us in Kit
Carson Park for two days of family fun ~ a look at traditional and contemporary
fiber artistry, an opportunity to get up close and personal with sheep,
goats, rabbits, alpacas and llamas, and an invitation for kids to try their
hand at a fiber project. Don Juan Ońate
first brought the sturdy churro sheep to the region in 1598 as a
walking commissary and fiber source for his small group of settlers. The churros quickly became a major
basis of subsistence for both these newcomers and the indigenous people. Generations later, wool growing and fiber
artistry maintain their economic viability for the people of the mountains
and valleys who have added new artistic techniques and exotic products to
traditional wools.
Our Vendors are a
select group - juried into the Wool Festival from among the membership of
the Mountain and Valley Wool Association (MAVWA), which produces the annual
Wool Festival. The MAVWA Board meets
during April to jury booth applications and selects only the best to
represent our Wool Festival’s mission. The selection will be made according
to these priorities: 1. Quality of the work or products for sale; 2.
residence in the regional area (Colorado, New Mexico and Texas); 3. regional
origin of animal fiber, i.e., grown/raised by the vendor is top priority—US
and International fiber permitted if incorporated into products produced by
the vendor; 4. previous volunteer participation; 5. previous membership
and vendor participation round out the selection criteria. For more Membership/Vendor information click here for the forms
page or click here for a Directory list of our
Membership (published October/November each year), or contact: membership@taoswoolfestival.org. The Tents scattered
around the center of the park are well worth a visit for those interested in
the Wool and Fleece Competition, Handspun Yarn Competition, the The Information booth, also among the
central tents, is where you can find, not only information, but the official collectable Wool Festival
T-Shirts and Canvas Bags. These
special shirts and Bags are designed for each year of the festival and go
quickly. Keep the Wool
Festival spirit all year-round by ordering souvenir WF Logo Items from our NEW Promo & Souvenirs page! Help fund the festival by purchasing these
goodies! On Sunday the
Silent Auction will be held in a central tent. The Auction is a major fundraiser for
production of the Wool Festival and the items come both from our wonderful,
generous vendors and other equally wonderful supporters of the Festival. The “Fiber Critters
Showcase” and two days of shearing demonstrations are both reminders that
before the shawl wound its way around your shoulders, the hat graces your
head, the blanket covered your bed or the rug your floor, there was a living,
breathing fiber critter keeping warm with those fibers, which are renewed
each year. Now you have an opportunity
to see various sheep breeds, angora goats that give us mohair fiber, alpacas,
llamas and angora rabbits. Talk with
breeders about the care and feeding of their animals… about an agricultural
life style… and about what drew them to the fiber industry.
No entrance
fee Time: 9am – 5pm on Saturday and 9am – 4pm on Sunday Note: Kit Carson Park is a public Town of Taos park that permits leashed dogs. SO, your well-behaved, leashed dog will be allowed at the festival. Pick up after your pet is a must! If your pet becomes a distraction to the festival, you will be asked to remove your pet from the premises. |
