‘Traditional arts’ on display at Fiber Fest

Coggeshall Farm’s 9th annual Fiber Festival is scheduled for Saturday, May 21

Posted 5/19/16

The art of spinning and working with natural fibers will be on display this weekend as Coggeshall Farm Museum hosts its 9th annual Fiber Festival and Craft Fair.

"This is a rare opportunity to …

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‘Traditional arts’ on display at Fiber Fest

Coggeshall Farm’s 9th annual Fiber Festival is scheduled for Saturday, May 21

Posted

The art of spinning and working with natural fibers will be on display this weekend as Coggeshall Farm Museum hosts its 9th annual Fiber Festival and Craft Fair.

"This is a rare opportunity to connect directly with the people who are raising fiber animals, creating and working with natural fibers, and producing one-of-a-kind handcrafted items," Coggeshall Executive Director Cindy Elder said in a release. "Interest in traditional arts has taken off like wildfire, and we are celebrating that resurgence at the Fiber Festival and Craft Fair."

More than 50 artists and crafters are scheduled to be demonstrate their craft and sell their work at the festival, which takes place Saturday, May 21, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Coggeshall Farm Museum, 1 Colt Drive.

Some of the artists include those associated with the Rhode Island Spinners' Guild, who will demonstrate using spinning wheels to convert fresh wool into workable fiber used in clothing and other textiles. The museum’s educators will mingle with the crowd, dressed in 18th century garb and teaching the visitors to the living museum what farm life was like in the 1700s. Guests are welcome to explore the historic farmhouse and outbuildings and check in on the animals, including chickens, horses, a donkey and sheep, which Kevin Ford, an international sheep shearing champion, will shear before the crowd.

In addition, entertainment will be provided by the Ladies of the Rolling Pin dancers and Atwater-Donnelly, a traditional American folk music duo. There will also be old-fashioned games, crafts for children, and a "rope walk," during which visitors work together to create rope from scratch.

Food will be provided by The Gilded Tomato, which produces wood-fired pizzas and more in copper-domed ovens handcrafted by a Maine artisan. The even also features the Coggeshall Cook Off, during which local bakers will compete to bake the best yeasted bread.

Tickets are available at the gate and cost $7 for adults; $5 for children under 12, seniors 62-plus and active-duty military members. All proceeds benefit the museum. Parking is free.

Cogeshall Farm is a nonprofit living history museum depicting the lives of Rhode Island's tenant farm families in the late 18th century. For more information, visit www.coggeshallfarm.org/fiberfestival or call 401-253-9062.

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