All photos by Chris Clark, motionmind on flickr
KSD hit the road last week for the inaugural Smoky Mountain Fiber Arts Festival in Townsend, TN. It was a small event, but was so much fun! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more enthusiastic crowd of participants. I talked to so many excited, interesting knitters, crocheters, spinners, and fiber folk. The vibe was so happy!
The festival had a small selection of vendors (that’s our booth, in the Townsend Elementary School Gym), and with the overwhelmingly positive response and turn-out, the organizers expect a much bigger second year, and I definitely agree. I met some wonderful fellow vendors, including Walter Turpening, who crafts the most beautiful, comfortable handwoven chairs and benches for knitters, spinners, and weavers. He’s old school, with no website, but you can see one of his coveted knitter’s rockers at my friend Kristin’s blog. I need to sell more yarn so that I can get one of these amazing chairs!
There were spinning, weaving, sheep shearing, livestock, and herding dog demonstrations (I didn’t get to see! I was too busy in the booth.) And the organizers had great kid’s activities for all ages, even my friend Julie’s toddler had things she could make, including an ingenious soda straw weaving project. This simple project completely mesmerized all of the kids who were working on it, and you could see groups of children (including teens) with heads bent over their work, happily weaving headbands and chunky bookmarks. I saw a few kids wearing their finished pieces around the event later!
Chris and I borrowed a pop-up camper and camped at a nearby campground for the weekend, the Mountaineer Campground. It was so quiet and peaceful, and a wonderful mini-vacation. I could see why people call Townsend, TN the “Peaceful Side of the Smokies”. And the campground had pet chickens!
So if you get a chance to visit the beautiful Smoky Mountains next spring, mark you calendar for this fiber fest. This first year was so great, I can’t wait to see next year’s event!
For information, visit www.smfaf.org
