Various types of fiber are used to make our clothing and other everyday products. And this important product is often overlooked and underappreciated. There is one event, however, that helps to reverse this, and that is the Central Pennsylvania Fiber Festival, which will be held Saturday, May 20, and Sunday, May 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lycoming County Fairgrounds in Hughesville.

Admission is free, as is parking. The event is held at the Lycoming County Fairgrounds in and around the Larabee building. Follow the signs and use the Route 405 entrance.

The Central Pennsylvania Fiber Festival is a registered nonprofit created in 2016 dedicated to the education and continuance of processing natural fibers from farm animals to usable products. Focusing on teaching everything from knitting, crocheting, felting, spinning, and weaving, from the shearing of the animals to a beautiful, finished product.

There will be various demonstrations held throughout each day. Demonstrators include herding dogs, spinning, weaving, flatbed knitting machines, rug hooking, bobbin lace weaving, antique sock machines, basket weaving, and much more. The local spinning & weaving guild will also be doing various demonstrations and holding their monthly meeting on Sunday.

In addition to the demonstrations, there will be over 35 vendors selling fleeces, roving, yarns, felting kits, handmade wooden items, maple syrup, homemade soaps, candles, and processing equipment such as spinning wheels and looms.

Those who attend can register for a free door prize basket filled with goodies.

There is also a ticket auction with auction items donated by the vendors. Those who bring a nonperishable food item will receive a free ticket to the ticket auction, and the food items will be donated to the Son-Light House. Food and ice cream trucks will be on hand.

According to Mike Longstreth, one of the organizers of the event, 2023 marks the ninth year of the fiber festival. It was started to bring knowledge of fiber and the fiber arts to the central PA area. “The objective of the festival is to provide the opportunity for the public to learn about fiber — natural fibers — of all types from animal fleeces to pottery, soapmaking, woodworking, basket making, dyeing methods, etc. There is a small board made up of five people that are artisans and all own small businesses and are dedicated to promoting the importance of the various arts, providing a quality product as well as shopping small and supporting family-owned businesses.”

The requirement to have a vendor space is that 75 percent of the items in the booth need to be made from a natural material — wool, alpaca, wood, clay, etc.

Most vendors do this as a hobby while maintaining full-time jobs. All are eager to share and pass on their knowledge. And are as willing to learn and add to that knowledge.

There is also a fleece sale held at the same time. Fiber farmers looking to sell their fleeces can enter the sale for a nominal fee, mark the fleece with the asking price, and hopefully, they are lucky, and someone comes along and falls in love with it enough to take it home.

There will also be a theme contest this year. They are giving the public a chance to come up with a theme/design for the 2024 festival that will then be used on merchandise and advertising. You can enter the festival, and the board will pick the winner and contact them.

Longstreth said if someone is unsure what to do with raw fiber, there are several hand processors that can help, or there are small cottage mills that can help guide you in the right direction based on the type of fleece you have — preserving the process of turning raw natural material into a usable product by hand or basic machine.

“I did not know how long it took to make a sweater by hand. I remember my grandmother knitted socks when I was young. Handmade things seem to last forever,” Longstreth told Webb Weekly.

He said anyone looking to learn about fiber, processing, and creating a finished product – this is the place to be!

If anyone wants to come and volunteer, no fiber knowledge is required, we are always looking for help. Contact them through the website.

For more information, visit the website at http://www.centralpennfiberfest.com Facebook and Instagram.