Massachusetts Fiber Festival

The Massachusetts Sheep & Woolcraft Fair takes place at the Cummington Fairgrounds in the hills of western Massachusetts, and it's been running for fifty years on volunteer power alone. Farmers bring their flocks for sheep breed judging, fiber artists compete and demonstrate, and small-scale shepherds and artisans sell locally produced wool and fiber products. The programming spans both sides of the fence: agricultural traditions like breed shows and shepherding demonstrations alongside spinning, dyeing, and wool crafts. The fairgrounds sit in a rural area with no cell service, which sounds like a limitation but might actually be part of the appeal. Fifty years of a volunteer-run fair in the western Massachusetts hills tells you this is a community that shows up for each other and for the animals.