The festival will run Sept. 8-10, 2023, offering many education classes. The focus on fiber
education for this Jefferson event provides opportunities for vendors to teach
or take classes, as well as making the class schedule more accessible
to the general public. Thirty-nine instructors, some from Maine and
California, will handle the teaching duties, covering topics ranging from
Appalachian hearth broom-making to beginning spinning to cold process
soap-making to Navajo weaving.
On Thursday, the event will be
open only to people registered for fiber arts classes and not to the
general public, with Thursday continuing to be a set-up day for all
festival activities, shows and vendors. Some food stands will be open for
business on Thursday, however, the country store will not be open for sales
until 10 a.m. Friday.
The Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival ranks as one of the major venues in the
country for fiber arts education, and provides the public with the opportunity
to view the full spectrum of the sheep industry, from sheep and fleece shows to
stock dog trial. Over five hundred fiber arts students are expected to register
for classes this year.
Daily admission to the festival
is $10 per person (kids eight and under are free) for Friday, Saturday and
Sunday. Weekend passes are available for $20 per person. Parking is free.