The Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival, Sept. 11-13 at the Jefferson Fair Park, 503 N. Jackson Ave. in Jefferson, should attract a diverse population of visitors. Farmers and would-be farmers will head to the barns to admire a wide variety of breeds of sheep. Cooks will find “Lamb: Pasture to Plate” cooking demos from chef Jack Kaestner. Shepherds will learn to perfect their craft. Dog lovers will head to the stock dog trials to see border collies and other herding breeds do their thing. And everyone will want to see the newborn lambs.
Fiber artists, spinners, hooked rug makers, knitters and crochet fans will come for classes and two huge “country store” buildings of vendors selling soaps, lotions, art pieces, spinning equipment, specialty yarns as well as raw materials — rovings, fleeces, combed tops.
As of press time, many “Wonders of Wool” classes were filled, but openings remained in 25 classes, including rug hooking, knitting beyond the basics, wrapping stitches and felting a necklace. Registration continues until the class is full; for openings, see wisconsinsheepandwoolfestival.com.