The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Take a trip to sheep and wool festival
Fiber lovers, here’s your chance to hop on the party coach to the New York Sheep and Wool Festival.
Fiber folk are encouraged to bring family and friends to enjoy a day of fiber fun and shopping, while enjoying gorgeous Duchess County fall foliage.
This annual fall festival is fun for the whole family, where there are many kid-friendly activities. For children interested in fiber fun, there are needle felting, embroidery, puppet and ornament making activities.
Visitors can marvel at the intelligence and athleticism of herding dogs as they herd sheep. Make sure you don’t miss more canine fun as others show off their Frisbee tricks.
The festival has something for everyone. Animal lovers can visit the sheep breed displays and view exotic animals. There is nothing like a parade, especially the Sunday morning llama parade.
Sheep lovers can be educated during shepherd talks and the fleece show. Spinners can choose to purchase a fleece from any number of breeds in the graded fleeces on display.
Of all the events going on throughout the day, top on the list, for many, are the craft vendors. There are vendors selling wares from sheep pelts, knitwear, woven goods, exquisite yarns, and so much more fibery goodness.
There are also vendors in the upper level of the festival, where there is a whole building devoted to enticing your taste buds. Here you will find cheeses, wines, chocolates, cookies candies, doughnuts and more.
In the upper area, you can watch all types of demonstrations, including a sheep-to-shawl contest, which is always exciting to watch. There is also an exhibit of wool handcrafts, not to be missed.
The festival will give you an appetite, and there are plenty of food vendors to see you don’t go hungry.
The coach leaves from the T.J. Maxx parking lot in downtown Torrington, promptly at 7:30 a.m., to arrive at the festival for the 9 a.m. opening. We will leave at 4 p.m. Tickets are $49, which includes entry to the festival.
For tickets, call In Sheep’s Clothing at 860-482-3979 or 860-605-0405 or visit www.in-sheeps-clothing.com