The Mississippi Valley Textile Museum’s highly anticipated Fibrefest is returning for its 16th annual event on September 10th & 11th, 2011 at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum (MVTM), the North Lanark Agricultural Hall (Ag. Hall),and the Almonte Old Town Hall (AOTH). At all locations we will be featuring fibre art vendors, demonstrations, a fibre art exhibit, a button show and two full-day festival of the fibre arts! Three exciting sites for one admission fee!
This year, we will hold Fibrefest at three locations: in the Norah Rosamond Hughes Gallery at the MVTM and at the Ag. Hall, and this year, the Ottawa Valley Button Club (OVBC) will be at the (AOTH). The cost to enter Fibrefest is $5. The locations present vendors of fibre arts supplies and finished goods, and throughout Fibrefest, local guilds will be on hand to demonstrate the arts of knitting, lacemaking, smocking, weaving, spinning, quilting, penny rugs, button collecting and more!
Featured Artist: Beth Levin ~ Papermaker
Beth Levin studied papermaking at The Ottawa School of Art as well as Visual and Creative Arts at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Canada. She has worked and played with paper and other materials for over 35 years. Her handmade-paper sculptures have appeared in galleries in Canada and the United States and are in collections in North America and Europe.
Featured Artist: Diane Lemire ~ Wearable Art
Born in Val d’Or in northern Quebec, the seventh of ten children, Diane grew up in Timmins where her father was a miner and her mother a resourceful woman who could turn her hand to anything. In their small house one room was always kept for crafts where materials spilled forth to create carpets, blankets and clothes.
New this year, the OVBC will be hosting Button Mania at the AOTH to celebrate the world of button collecting. The OVBC welcomes all FibreFest participants to come and see a beautiful museum display of buttons, to attend presentations on button history and design, and to have the opportunity to buy antique, vintage and collectible buttons from dealers. Button Mania visitors can also have their own special buttons examined and evaluated by OVBC members. We plan to host a fun event which will be enjoyed by everyone, from the most casual visitor to the serious button collector.
The Friends of the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum will be providing tea room services featuring homemade goodies, beverages and sandwiches all available at a reasonable price.
Admission to Fibrefest is $5.00, which includes access to all sites. Fibrefest runs on Saturday September 10 from 10AM – 5PM and Sunday September 11 from 10AM – 4PM at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, the North Lanark Agricultural Hall, and the Almonte Old Town Hall, just 45 minutes west of downtown Ottawa. The North Lanark Agricultural Hall is located at the Almonte fair grounds, the Almonte Old Town Hall is located at 14 Bridge St. and the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum is located at 3 Rosamond Street East in Almonte. For more information contact the museum at 613-256-3754 x7 or info@mvtm.ca
