Shepherd’s Harvest Festival was cold, soggy and fun. It’s a mid-sized festival, big enough to have a good selection of vendors in four barns, small enough that you can comfortably do it in one day and cover pretty much everything you want to see. The crowds were good but not massive, perhaps because of the weather. It was generally easy to look around in the booths without feeling rushed. My sister Geri was a festival virgin so it was a good introduction to the whole experience.
I was very impressed with the organization and quality of the festival, especially since it’s an all-volunteer effort. A lot of work went into making it a success and we were glad we picked this one for our fiber fix for the year.
The downside, as often happens with these things, was the weather. While it didn’t rain, it was cold and damp. My second purchase of the day (after some lace weight yarn) was a pair of alpaca socks. I sat in the vendor’s booth and switched my athletic socks for the wool ones and the day immediately got warmer. Yes, of course I have wool socks, but not as thick or yummy as these. Before long we all had new wool socks, which probably saved the day. 
Gail and her new socks
(note felt balls on hat (made by Geri) which garnered many comments )
At lunch we passed on the vendors selling walleye chunks, popcorn and fudge, and had a picnic in the car with the heat turned up high until we thawed out. Then we went back for Round Two.
I was sort of restrained in my purchases, meaning I came home with money left over and pretty much kept my credit cards in my wallet. I didn’t buy everything that called to me, but enough that I’ll have new yarn and fiber to play with for the rest of the year. I also bought my first support spindle, which will be fun to learn to use.
Geri in her festival-bought hat and me being a responsible blogger
Bunny in a bucket…
….next door to a three-day-old goat in a box
Cheese curds on the way to see the…
…buck-toothed llamas (loving the matching halters/scarves)
and clowning around at the end of the day
We’re considering our options for next year’s trip. The only thing we’ve settled on is it will be later in the year so it’ll be a little warmer.
Looks like fun and I adore cheese curds. I will buy enough this summer in Wisconsin to put in the freezer. Of course, I always say this and seldom do it;-D
Woo Hoo!
Looks and sounds like a wonderful time! I love the bunny in the bucket. So floofy!
xo
I am so glad you had cheese curds! No outdoor event in MN or WI is complete without them.
Looks like a great time and a well-deserved get-away. Never had a cheese curd but it looks good and I’m with you on wool socks/warm feet. As a matter of fact, I wear wool socks to bed during the winter
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Although it was a bit chillier than you would have preferred, it sounds like a fun time. I love the bucket bunny!
We froze our butts off at NH S&W also.
Love the bunny in a bucket!
Mmmmm. Cheese curds. I miss cheese curds…
What a great day! I especially liked bunny in a bucket. Seems like everyone was cold (as Gayle points out, we froze too).