Fibrefest

When the kids head back to school and the first hint of autumn is on the air, Almonte starts gearing up for its favourite fall festival: Fibrefest! This year’s event — the 22^nd annual celebration of the fibre arts — takes place on the weekend of September 9th and 10th at two locations in town. For the low admission price of $5 per day, visitors will find demonstrations, vendors, and exhibits at both the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum and the Almonte Arena.

Local guilds will demonstrate spinning, knitting, weaving, rug hooking, lacemaking, smocking and quilting. Vendors include spinners, weavers, and fibre artists from across the province, as well as quilt shops and alpaca farms. And at 4pm on September 10, hundreds of felted lambs will be spun in a bingo spinner at the arena, and the owners of the first three lambs to come out of the spinner will win fabulous prizes. Tickets for the spin will be on sale during Fibrefest at the at the arena.

During the two-day festival 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. At 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. Also on display this year is the featured exhibit A Life Inspired, a retrospective of works by William Hodge. Mr. Hodge is a retired teacher from the textile faculty of the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto. His extraordinary works of beaded portraits and woven tapestries are in permanent collections of institutions across the world

Fibrefest Events You Don't Want to Miss!

Workshops
For the first time, several hands-on workshops will be taking place in conjunction with Fibrefest. This is your chance to roll up your sleeves and get felting, weaving or hooking with talented fibre artists and vendors.

For more details, and to reserve your place please contact the MVTM at http://mvtm.ca

The Mississippi Valley Textile Museum is privileged to host this significant quilt during our celebratory festival of all things textile, our 22nd Fibrefest event.

Following a day of workshops, on Sept 8, the quilt will be displayed upstairs at the Almonte Arena for an evening lecture followed by a Q & A session. The lecture will examine this socially charged textile exploration of a dark chapter in the lives of so many from a vulnerable sector in our society.

Join Pam Hart as she discusses each panel. Learn about the journey from pain to healing that expressive quilting has provided for these individuals and its universal relevance. Even those among us who have been fortunate enough to be untouched by violence, abuse, depression and suicide may find that the tactile experience that all forms of fibre art delivers can be cathartic.

Tickets are $10. Light refreshments will be available. Proceeds to benefit the MVTM and the Kawartha group.


Please visit the MVTV website for all events and special showings!

http://mvtm.ca/  and once you are there click on Fibrefest for details

An intimate Evening at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum

The Mississippi Valley Textile Museum is both proud and pleased to announce that the renowned textile artist William Hodge will attend Fibrefest 2017 to be part of our textile festival. On the evening of Saturday, September 9 at 7pm at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in the Nora Rosamund Hughes Gallery, William will conduct a small and select tour through his exhibition.

William C. G. Hodge is a talented artist and a well spoken educator who teaches with passion and brings a rich depth of experience to all his lectures and workshops.

 

A selection of his works is currently on display at the Museum until September 16. These pieces represent a smattering of the enormous contribution made by this Canadian artist to the textile art world and are prime examples of the scope of his talent. In this intimate setting, he will guide attendees through each of his pieces being exhibited; teaching, inspiring and fostering creativity.

 

Only a small group of 30 attendees can be welcomed. This lucky group will enjoy the celebratory evening of wine, cheese, and art. Tickets are $20 and available at the Museum.

Please note that the artist will also be on hand at the gallery during the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 10, from 1-2 pm to answer questions from those who wish to view this exhibit before it closes the following weekend.

• Details

• Saturday, September 9, 2017
• 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
• Norah Rosamond Hughes Gallery