Released: February 19, 2004

Kansas Fiber Festival Matches Artists with Producers

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Sally Brandon interrupted her education to participate in the International 4-H Youth Exchange (IFYE) program. She viewed the travel opportunity as a time to get acquainted with people in a different part of the world. She did that – and more.

While in Finland, host families introduced her to Scandinavian fiber arts and crafts. The experience ignited a lifetime interest that Brandon has shared with the community in which she lives, Phillipsburg, Kan. She has been a driving force in fiber art and education in the community, which will host the 2nd annual Central Plains Fiber Festival March 26-27.

“The fiber festival is patterned after similar events held in larger population areas. It’s being planned to bring fiber artists, crafters and producers together at the Phillips County Fairgrounds,” Brandon said.

Classes for producers will focus on fiber evaluation and rangeland management. Many producers also are expected to bring animals for display or sale, she said.

Artists and crafters attending the festival can learn how to use wool, alpaca, llama, soy silk and other fibers. Classes range from fleece preparation to machine knitting, four-harness weaving, soy silk felt, creative dyeing, basket weaving and others. Class fees vary with subject matter and supplies. A machine knitting class costs $40, while the class fee for learning to spin llama and alpaca is $65. Creative dyeing is $20 and making a felted purse is $20.

Classes for students ages 7 to 11 are offered at $15 per day, and there will be a fashion show with wearable fiber art, said Vicky Overley, K-State Research and Extension agent in Phillips County.

The festival is funded in part by the Darwin and Lorene Cole Foundation in Phillipsburg and also sponsored by the Phillips County K-State Research and Extension office, Phillips County Farm Bureau; the Fleece & Fibers Weavers and Spinners Guild; Great Plains Artisans, Inc. (Brandon’s fiber art center); Kansas’ Biggest Rodeo Association; and The Plum Nelly (a fiber art shop in Hastings, Neb.).

For registration or more information, interested persons can contact the Phillips County Extension office at 785-543-6845 or check the festival Web site: www.centralplainsfiberfest.com

Early registration is recommended, as class space is limited, Overley said.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Nancy Peterson, Communications Specialist
nancyp@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News