For the last four years we have held a festival at the end of spring. Starting with the Festival of Forgotten Skills, then a Bee Fair, another Forgotten Skills and a Beanie Festival. All of these festivals have been fun, family orientated and informative. They have been largely run by volunteers and we have managed to keep the entry fee at an affordable rate for families.
This year we have decided that fibre deserves a festival all of its own and when we started brainstorming what this could look, like it got exciting.
First of all we thought of all the types of natural fibre that is can be grown, starting with the animal fibres such as wool, silk and hair and moving onto the huge abundance of plant fibres; cotton, linen, hemp, bamboo, coconut, sisal, jute, agave, papyrus and many more.
Examples of many of these fibres (both plant and animal) are growing in the South West and I’m sure that there are some keen growers or gardeners out there that would love to bring along some examples of plants, parts of plants, animals, silkworms ……
Then there are all the exciting things we can do with fibres from paper making to fine fabrics, rope and housing. There’s felting and spinning, weaving and basket making, there’s beautiful artwork and strong building materials.
There are skills that take years to learn and skills we can share with children. Every culture in the world has employed fibres in some way and the range of plants, animals and techniques are huge.
If you are into natural fibres in any way we would love you to come and share your skills and/or knowledge.
The format will be very simple, Fair Harvest will open the venue (including the main room, the old barn and numerous outside areas) and invite you to come and share your skills and passions. There is no charge for stalls. If you are expecting to share your skills and there is a cost involved (e.g. wool for felt making) you are free to charge participants for materials. You are welcome to use the day to promote your business but are not expected to have a market style stall.
The entry fee to the public will be $10 per adult and $5 per child (under 5’s free). If you are sharing your skills on the day, you and your family (or you and one other adult) will have free entry.
Please help spread the word to individuals or groups that you know may be keen to get involved. We will also be looking for volunteers on the day (parking etc).
Please let us know how you wish to get involved by filling out the form below. We will be in touch with you as we begin to layout the exhibitors according to the needs.The program will be released at the end of October.
If you are interested in running a workshop through Fair Harvest while you are in the area please let us know and we can discuss further.