Augusta, Maine - The Maine Fiber Frolic, the state’s newest agricultural fair, starts Maine’s entire agricultural fair season on Saturday and Sunday, June 2-3, at the Windsor Fairgrounds in Windsor. This unique exhibition focusing on fiber arts and crafts will weave together more than 80 vendors selling all sorts of fiber-art supplies and a variety of finished goods.
"The Maine Fiber Frolic is a family-oriented event where our visitors can see wonderful fiber-producing animals, such as alpacas, llamas, goats, sheep, and rabbits; learn to make beautiful finished products; or watch something as unusual in Maine as an alpaca shearing,” Nancy Williams, fair president, said. “The frolic will showcase some of the best fiber artists and craftspeople in Maine.”
Frolic vendors will bring their fiber-producing animals to highlight the process of growing and making the fiber they use in their products, Williams pointed out. Craftspeople who grow their own herbs and make sachets, soaps and hand lotions also will be on exhibit, she said.
“Many vendors are fiber farmers, and several specialize in the process of dyeing to create a rainbow of colors for their goods,” Williams said.
There now are about 2,200 fiber farms in Maine, and since the 1990's, Maine farms producing high-quality fibers have proliferated. These growers are supported by a larger network of businesses and consumers -- processing mills, professional and home craft-makers, fiber artists, supply shops, training and learning centers -- all of whom add value to raw materials and provide services and supplies that combine to create a huge variety of product offerings to the public.
The Maine Fiber Frolic will not be without the usual fair competitions, but everything focuses on fiber arts and crafts. The “Sheep to Shawl” competition, for example, will require two teams to take a washed fleece, card it, spin it and finally weave a shawl of a specified size.
Visitors also will be able to see a fleece show, a “Make It with Fiber” contest, and various art contests. In addition, the frolic will include fiber workshops and sheep dog demonstrations.
Free entertainment will be provided by Dan Grady's “Marvelous Marionettes,” and The Potluck String Band will round out the event’s busy weekend schedule.
For more information, go to:
o Maine Fiber Frolic - http://www.fiberfrolic.com
o Maine Association of Agricultural Fairs — http://www.mainefairs.org/
o Get Real. Get Maine! — http://www.getrealmaine.com/
o Maine Department of Agriculture — http://www.maine.gov/agriculture/
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