Mark Your Calendars for the 7th Annual Copper K Fiber Festival July 20th & 21st

Mark your calendars for the 7th Annual Copper K Fiber Festival on Saturday, July 20 (9 AM-5 PM) and Sunday, July 21 (9 AM-3 PM).

Whitehall business owner and event creator Kami Noyes, of Ranching Fiber Traditions, invites everyone to attend this event, where fiber arts are returning to their roots-out in the country where friends gather! The event is free of charge, and fiber arts workshops, vendors, and more are included in this fun-filled weekend at the historic Copper K Barn just outside of Whitehall (786 Point of Rocks Road, Whitehall).

With over twenty-five vendors, the Copper K Fiber Festival offers not only learning experiences but a variety of homegrown gifts as well.

"This is a great place to do your Christmas shopping and support homegrown businesses," Noyes said.

Noyes, who grew up lambing in the Copper K Barn, always knew she wanted to hold a festival there someday, especially after she took up the hobby of spinning wool fibers from her sheep cuttings. Seven years ago, after her sister Lacee Kountz restored the barn, that dream became a reality. The event attracts hundreds of attendees each year from all over the country.

"I think a lot of people don't even know what "fiber arts" in this case means," Noyes said. "We aren't talking about what you eat for breakfast."

Fiber arts is a fine art style that uses textiles such as fabric, yarn, and natural and synthetic fibers. It focuses on the significance of the materials and the manual labor involved. Most fiber creations are works of art that communicate some message, emotion, or meaning and go beyond just the literal sense of the materials. Traditionally, fiber is taken from plants or animals, for example, cotton from cotton seed pods, linen from flax stems, wool from sheep hair, or silk from silkworm spun cocoons.

Workshops have been announced, and registration is open at http://www.copperkfiberfestival.com. Workshops and instructors include Beginning Spinning (Ann Glick), Pom Pom Owls (LaVonne Stucky), Learning to Warp and Weave on a Rigid Heddle Loom (Anne Sammons), Spinner's Toolbox: Supported Long Draw (Julie Drogsvold), Single Kettle Gradient Dyeing (Randy Glick), Splash and Dash Dyeing (Randy Glick), Needle Felted Bison (LaVonne Stucky), Beginner Punch Needle (Una Walker), Build and Use Your Own Blending Board (Julie Drogsvold), Chain Plying Essentials (Tammy Jordan), and Wet Felting Slippers (Maria Cates).

For questions and more information, please contact Kami Noyes at copperkfiberfest@gmail.com or 406-490-3437. Save the date for July 20-21, 2024!