2016 New York State Sheep and Wool Festival
Once you make it from the filled parking lot to the main gate and pay the $12 admissions fee; monkeys, kangaroos, lemurs, and pigs are waiting to greet you. Other livestock breeding displays can be found within different areas throughout the fairgrounds. Exhibitors and volunteers are able to sign up bring their own livestock so people can take pictures, feel, and ask questions about their animals. They are proud breeders, some even pinned up ribbons from past competitions to exhibit the talent and beauty of their sheep. Sheep was of course the main animal but there were also a variety of llamas and goats. That doesn’t compare to the vast amount of sheep breeds provided by exhibitors. These included Cotswold’s, Black Welsh Mountain Sheep, Tunis, Leicester Longwool, Mini Cheviot, Shropshire, and Babydoll Southdown’s, just to name a few.
The annual New York State Sheep and Wool Festival was held Saturday and Sunday, October 15 and 16, at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck. With over 250 vendors open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., there was an abundance of activities available to festival-goers at any time of day.
Gary Veeder was with two beautiful Corriedales he brought to the festival. Veeder also has two astounding grandchildren, Cosette and Macey Veeder-Shave. Cosette is a 15-year-old with a passion for raising one of her lambs “Calliope”. She wasn’t sitting with them at the festival though. “She’s competing in the Make It Wool competition run by her mother. I don’t think she won, but she always competes.” said Veeder. “These are her and my daughter’s sheep. Both my grandchildren are very talented.”
The daughter Meegan Veeder-Shave has been running the ‘Make it Wool’ competition for a few years now. She competed when she was younger and has influenced her daughter to as well. This competition included competitors of all ages must make an article of clothing using wool and present it during a fashion show. The clothes can be made by knitting, sewing, weaving, crocheting or any way competitors want to use the wool. This competition is judged from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. so it was Veeder’s responsibility to watch over the two sheep for his family. Veeder was proud of the Corriedale’s they bread and knowledgable on sheep breeding, prepared to answer any questions he was approached with. Corriedale’s are bread for their faces. They have the most common pictured face when anyone would think of a sheep. They’re the ones you count jumping at night.
There are more areas where new comers can learn about sheep and returning customers can revisit their favorite. The livestock arena holds sheep and angora goat shows. Bleachers take up one side for onlookers mostly filled with an educated, passionate crowd. The shows themselves entail groups of sheep at a time being walked into the arena. They stand in a line as a single judge approaches each sheep and feels their coat and rear flank, observes their stance, and moves around their head. Once he has gone through the line up, the sheep will be walked in a circle around the arena and stop at the half way mark. As the judge approaches each sheep again, the owners reposition their legs so the legs are spread open and to show the behavior the sheep possess. Once the judge deems the judging over, he takes the microphone and announces the winners. He goes into extreme detail about the contestants; discussing the density of their fleece, yield from shearing, how they are handled, color of wool, and quality of fibers. This continues throughout the day. Outside of the arena are places for sheep to be shaped and cleaned up before the show.
Other tents and buildings are filled with anything but live animals. Wool, soap, key chains, yarn, and even clothing are sold from a variety of vendors. Each item is manufactured or produced from parts sheep. The different soaps are made with goat milk and are extremely natural. Scarves and hats are made from wool and ensure warmth along with comfort. The wool and yarn is offered in every color so both dyed and natural wool can be bought. To the touch, the wool is extremely soft and easy to work with whatever the use may be. Many guests come prepared with large empty bags and leave when they are overflowing with wool.
Amy Doyle is one of them. She has been coming to the festival for five years now, traveling all the way from Massachusetts. She first heard about it through work and since she loves to knit decided to go. She first took her friend who was very much into fiber art, but since has taken her mother. “There are a few festivals like this at places like The Big E by me, but nothing compares to this one.” said Doyle. She stayed for just one day her first time attending, but since has increased. She and her mother stayed from Friday to Monday this past festival. This is her third year with her mom, and definitely not their last.
Right now Doyle’s favorite part about coming to the festival is “making memories with mom.” It’s a place for families and friends to come together, all sharing the same interests of wool and yarn. It’s a large community that most people wouldn’t even think existed. Both Doyle and her mother don’t knit for a living; it’s just a hobby. “I just do it for fun” she said while wearing a beautiful hat knitted by her mother and a thick, colorful scarf knitted by her. Their favorite vendors, that are must stops are Miss Babs Hand-Dyed Yarns & Fibers, Jennie the Potter, Dragonfly Fibers, and O-Wool. “We just come, eat, and knit all day,” said Doyle.
Eating is an unexpectedly huge part of the festival. With food vendors such as Awesome Apple Crisp, Taste Budd’s Café, Scooters Pretzels, Simply Cannoli, and more. Any craving or sweet tooth will be satisfied. Whether it be Mexican, Polish, Italian, fried, BBQ, and more, every savory and sweet cuisine was there. If your thirst still wasn’t quenched, there were smoothie vendors, shake vendors, and a Wineries & Wine Tasting tent. Even a roasting lamb was spinning on a rotisserie. The lines were long but worth it. Goats could be fed too, for just 25 cents guests could feed goats a handful of food at the festival entrance.
If eating and goat shows weren’t enough. There were workshops going on everyday, all day long that guests could sign up for and attend. This included, cooking demonstrations of lamb shanks, easy appetizers with goat cheese, spit roasting lamb, lamb ragu with pasta, cheese making, “no fleece flatbread”, and braised lamb. Furthermore, there were weaving demonstrations, sheep dog herding displays, “Crazy for Corespinning”, rag weaving, naturally dyeing silk, “The Art of Navajo Weaving”, wild basketry, felt making and others. Most were sold out days prior to the festival but other walk-in events, demonstrations, talks, and competitions were available without prior registration.
Long-time attendees such as Doyle, have never signed up for a workshop and don’t really have any intentions. Their passions are knitting but it is not what they do for a living. Veeder has been coming to this festival for over 20 years, but it is not what he always did. He used to be a pharmacist and sold medicine to the local Marist Brothers. “I was a good pharmacist, want to know why?” asked Veeder. “Because I’m not a pharmacist anymore” he laughed. The festival was made up of people of different ethnicities, backgrounds, passions, jobs, and families but they were still a community. This festival gives those who return every year to make connections from around the world with a chance to see them the following year. It also provides new comers with a sheep load of information and experiences to bring back to friends and family.
