Report of the Wool Outreach Fund Grant Committee

Virginia Sheep Producers Association

2015 ALLOCATIONS

Following the Virginia Shepherds’ Symposium in January 2015, to which many new participants were drawn to hear Rodney Kott speak on wool topics, and following a 2014 survey of state wool producers’ interests, the

Wool Outreach Committee continued to engage with all the state’s wool producers to assess how best to help them increase quality and profitability of their wool.

One of the most successful outlets for Virginia wool at present is the sheep and wool festivals held across the state. Through them Virginia-raised wool and other fiber is marketed directly to consumers, and a strong educational component to each of these events brings knowledge to the public on the valuable characteristics of American wool. The “buy local” food movement impetus of recent years translates well to the state’s fiber producers, who have seen greater demand, and more profit, from direct marketing fleece and value added fiber products to customers who value contact with those who manage the animals who grew the wool.

The Virginia Sheep Producers Association received $2,478 in funds for wool promotion for the 2014 round of grant funding.

We again chose to fund the four events across the state that educate the public about, and provide a marketplace for sellers and buyers of, Virginia wool. Each of the events described below was awarded $641. We allocated $55 for materials for initiation of a Make It With Wool competiton in Virginia.

1. Powhatan Fiber Festival. The year 2015 was the third year of this April festival, which featured artisans, farmers and others throughout the Commonwealth that are committed to the fiber industry in Virginia. The Festival Committee states that “This festival supports the Virginia Sheep Producers Association goal of promotion and economic development of the sheep industry in Virginia by providing a platform on which the potential of sheep-related agribusiness is shared with others.” The festival offers the public the welcome range of shepherding sights, sounds and activities—shearing demonstrations, sheepdog demonstrations, a sheep breed display, knitting, weaving, and felting demonstrations, and the opportunity to purchase raw and finished fiber products. The festival’s website and Facebook page link consumers with fiber enthusiasts year-round.

The Festival used the Outreach funds for advertising (rack cards and ads in publications and on websites) for its upcoming 2016 festival.

Location: Powhatan

Above, the festival rack card; at right,

a video on the PFF Facebook page showed a

“waulking the wool” demonstration, with

no additional moisture needed for fulling the

fabric; the Festival Facebook page; a pen

of sheep await their turn for the shearing

demonstration.

2. Shenandoah Fiber Festival. The 2015 Festival has more than 27 classes offered for this September 26-27, 2015, event, at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. This is the event’s tenth year; it has shown continued growth in popularity among fiber enthusiasts as well as producers and vendors, with more than 2,500 tickets sold, 150 vendors, and hundreds of class attendees at last year’s festival.

This event stands out among Virginia’s fiber festivals for its juried fleece sale, at which raw whole fleeces (or split fleeces) are offered for sale, with knowledgeable volunteers on hand to help purchasers with fleece selection. Each fleece is evaluated at entry, with comments and characteristics noted for each. Novice fiber artists learn how to assess and buy a fleece for a particular project. In 2014, 141 fleeces sold, for a total of nearly $7,300.

Breed displays, sheepdog demonstrations, an Angora goat show, a spinning competiton

and a fleece-to-scarf team contest add to the festival’s offerings. It is the first of the autumn fiber festivals in the mid-Atlantic region.

The Festival used its allocation to expand the breed display, compensate instructors, and for festival promotion.

Location: Berryville

From the Festival’s Facebook page: A class in choosing a fleece is a offered in conjunction with the jurried fleece sale this year.

Fleeces at last year’s sale.

3. Fall Fiber Festival & Montpelier Sheepdog Trials. This is Virginia’s oldest fiber festival, celebrating its 28th year on October 3 and 4, 2015. It is held on the grounds of Montpelier, the home of President

James Madison, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

With an average of 5,000 attendees each year, the festival’s mission is to promote the Virginia wool industry through animal and product exhibits, hands-on demonstrations, educational workshops for children and adults, and booths selling fiber products—a number of them Virginia shepherds producing value-added products.

The Festival Committee states: “A natural parallel has occurred between the growth in popularity of the Fall Fiber Festival and the expension of agribusinesses, increasing public interest in sustainable agricluture, and the return to rural lifestyles in the central Virginia Blue Ridge region.” The nationally sanctioned sheepdog trials that coincide with this festival add to the popularity of the festival for local and regional visitors.

Location: Montpelier Station

At one class a child learns to weave.

Under the festival’s Display and Demonstration tent, shepherds exhibit the breeds of sheep they raise and the products produced from their fleeces, while artisans spin, weave, and knit while offering free advice and instruction in a range of methods. Special demonstrations include

fiber prep (combing and carding), spinning, weaving on four types of looms, knitting and crochet, rug hooking, felting, and antique sock knitting machines. Classes for adults and children also are offered for modest fees.

“The general public is given the opportunity to gain awareness and knowledge about wool products, as well as how to create crafts, clothing, and other goods made form natural wool,” states the Festival’s funding application.

The allocated funds will go to teaching expenses and materials, adult and children’s workshops and demonstrations.

A whole fleece from a Scottish Blackface ram on display in the demo tent.

Children watch a sheep being shorn.

4. Waterways Heritage Festival. This Festival replicates many of the elements that the three other Virginia fiber festivals offer, in this far southeastern portion of the state, adding to it a broad historical overview of the homegrown and handmade culture of this region of the state. Special outreach to schoolchildren in the Hampton Roads area draws many families

from urban and suburban areas to the festival. No admission fee is charged, and about 5,000 visit the festival annually.

Sheep shearing, a sheep-to-shawl, and spinning, weaving, knitting demonstrations, are presented as well as explanations of their context in American history. Local vendors provide the modern context of wool production and use, demonstrating its current value as a favored fiber for clothing, bedding, other useful objects, and as a source of pleasure and artistic creation.

The festival used the allocation for promotion and handouts for event attendees.

Location: Chesapeake

5. Make It With Wool. Following up on interest among Virginia Sheep Producer Associaton Board members, association members, survey participants, and outreach to festival organizers, the Committee allocated $55 to compile notebooks on MIWW contest procedures and forms (obtained from Judy Williamson, a co-coordinator of the national contest and Maryland MIWW coordinator. The committee is currently coordinating with festivals, educators, and interested volunteers in Virginia to initiate a state competition for 2016.

Summary. The Wool Outreach Committee of the Virginia Sheep Producers Association allocated all of the funds provided to it for 2015. The table at right summarizes the recipients and purposes for which the money was allocated. The Committee is pleased to report that the use of these funds to promote wool education and marketing in the Commonwealth is also expanding the connections between producers. Our hopes are that these expanding networks and pooling of producer talents and resources will multiply the effects that these small allocations are having on the promotion of American wool.

Martha Polkey, ChairWool Outreach CommitteeVirginia Sheep Producers AssociationMembers: Naomi Smith, Patti Price, Robin Freeman, Cathie Shiff

Attachments: Copies of checks, Copy of receipt for supplies, Copy of MIWW invitational letter