21 August 2015
Fibrefest Marks 20 Years
Mark the weekend of September 12th and 13th, 2015 on your calendars because you won’t want to miss the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum’s 20th annual Fibrefest. At two locations—the Museum and the Almonte Arena—visitors will find demonstrations, vendors, and exhibits—a full two-day festival of fibre arts! Local guilds will demonstrate spinning, knitting, weaving, rug hooking, lacemaking, smocking and quilting. Many guilds will be rising to the challenge of exhibiting special works celebrating 20 years of Fibrefest. Vendors include spinners, weavers, and fibre artists from across the province, as well as quilt shops and alpaca farms. “That’s My Style,” vintage clothing show and sale will include a large number of vintage clothing and jewelry dealers, allowing patrons to enjoy and purchase a huge variety of vintage fashions in one location.
The Friends of the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum will offer their popular tea room services, featuring homemade goodies, beverages and sandwiches at very reasonable prices.
While visiting the Museum, explore the permanent history exhibit “Fabric of a Small Town,” which interprets how a piece of wool becomes a piece of finished cloth and includes industrial machines used throughout the process.
Featured Artist Frank James Cripwell (1925-2014)
The Ottawa Valley Guild of Stitchery will present a special exhibit of amazing cross-stitched works by this talented artist. Cripwell and his wife Jill discovered counted cross-stitch while he was on assignment in The Hague and filled their walls with scenes and themes from Holland and Europe. Upon retirement they naturally took up stitching. Being a scientist, Jim attacked the problem of patterns and colours. Unsatisfied with simple patterns created by others, he created his own designs using scanned pictures and pattern-making software. His outstanding work was well-known across the country and this exhibit is not to be missed.
Don’t miss the Lamb Race!
At 4 pm on September 13th, hundreds of wooden lambs will be thrown over the main falls in downtown Almonte, and the owners of the first three lambs to reach the finish line will win fabulous prizes. Tickets for the race will be on sale at the Museum well ahead of the event.
Whether you are interested in art, history, clothing, or textiles or are just looking for a great day out and about, Fibrefest will have something for you.
Admission to Fibrefest is $5.00 per day, which includes access to all sites.
