Counting Sheep until the West Virginia Fiber Festival returns
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MORGANTOWN - The West Virginia Fiber Festival returns to Morgantown from Sept. 18 and 19 at the Mon County Center in Mylan Park.
The goal of the festival is to promote economic growth in the natural fiber industry of West Virginia and the greater Appalachian region. Additionally, the event serves as an educational seminar for the public to learn about the fiber supply chain and support local artists.
Friday, there will be a “Shepherd’s seminar," from 1-6 p.m., which includes a variety of speakers and demonstrations, such as "Sheep Parasite Control 101," "Sheep Handling and Harvest" and "How Nutrition Affects Wool Clip." The night concludes with a dinner and mixer from 6-8 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 19, a vendor marketplace will be open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The festival will also hold all-day celebrations to commemorate Worldwide Spin in Public Day (WWSIP,) where weavers across the world are invited to showcase their talents in public.
This year's speakers are Brad Smith, Josh Peploski of West Virginia University Cooperative Extension, Scott Bowridge, WVU Professor of Food and Animal Production and Alex Smith, Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent of the WVU Extension.
A detailed event schedule can be found at westvirginiafiberfestival.com/schedule/.
This is the first time the event has returned to Morgantown since 2015. The event is made possible from the WVU Extension and United States Department of Agriculture grant, which supports WVU's founding mission as a land grant institution.
The festival has twelve vendors so far and is still looking for more.
Heather Dushanko, owner of the Yarn Basket in Phillippi, WV, is excited to bring a variety of different hand-dyed yarns to the event. As a small business not far from Morgantown, she is excited to get her name out there.
"I keep seeing the Morgantown Folks post, 'There's no fiber people here,'" she said. "I'm excited they're trying to bring this back. I'm excited to be there."
Dushanko hopes to encourage younger generations to embrace knitting and crochet with her products. Visit her online shop at https://wvyarnbasket.com/.
Amanda Slanigan is the co-owner of Hive and Holler, a beekeeping business that specializes in lotions, lip balms and organic, raw honey. Slanigan and her husband started the business and 2018, and they are looking forward to introducing their products to local weavers.
"We were looking for some fiber festivals around us because for our lotion bars, crocheters and knitters are a big market for us," she said. "Our bars do really well to moisturize your skin, and then just after you use it a few moments later, you can go back to your materials, your yarn, and it won't transfer to that."
Hive and Honey is based in Harrison County, West Virginia. Slanigan said she is most looking forward to finding a sense of community with other farmers through the festival.
"I'm just excited to talk with other people, other makers, other farmers, and also potential customers who want to use our lotion bars," she said. "I love to hear if they've used them before, if it's worked for them, if they have any feedback, good or bad, to make our product the best it can be."
A full vendor list can be found at westvirginiafiberfestival.com/vendors/. The event is free for all ages, and more information can be found at westvirginiafiberfestival.com.