Jane Thornton, a member of the Blue Hills Fibre Festival committee, describes the upcoming event as a celebration of creativity and community. The June 7 festival at Carberry Memorial Hall will feature workshops, vendor markets, and mill tours, showcasing Manitoba’s thriving fibre arts scene.
A passion-driven committee
The volunteer-run festival, first launched in 2013, transitioned to a new committee in 2019. Thornton notes the team includes sheep producers, felters, and textile artists united by their love of fibre.
“We wanted to keep the Blue Hills Fibre Festival going,” she says.
From wool to wearable art
Fibre arts encompass knitting, weaving, felting, and spinning using materials like wool, hemp, and cotton. Thornton adds the craft’s resurgence spans generations:
“There’s a real resurgence in knitting now. Even the 35-year-olds are coming back into it.”
Workshops, markets, and mill tours
The free-admission event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with vendors selling yarn, textiles, and handmade goods. Austin Woolen Mill will offer tours, demonstrating how raw fleece becomes yarn or batting.
“We have 26 vendors and over 200 attendees last year,” Thornton says.
Workshops on spindle spinning, needle felting, and nalbinding require pre-registration via the festival’s Facebook page.
Growth of a grassroots movement
Thornton attributes the craft’s popularity to cyclical trends and renewed interest in handmade goods.
“It’s a growing movement worldwide,” she notes.
Sponsors include the Manitoba Sheep Association and Canadian Cooperative Wool Growers.
Details about workshops, vendors, and mill tours are available on the festival’s Facebook, Instagram, and website.
Thornton adds with a laugh: “Things just started to run in circles. Now there’s a real resurgence of that kind of craft.”
