Sheep, alpacas take center stage at Fiber Festival of New England

The Fiber Festival of New England is back at the Eastern States Exposition for the weekend, giving people a chance to learn all there is to know about local agriculture and interact with the animals. I took full advantage of hanging out with the alpacas and sheep Saturday morning. Take a look. My kids grew up saying I'm going to be an alpaca farmer someday. Fast forward, it came true. The Fiber Festival of New England is here, a time to highlight the development and promotion of agriculture, educating people while bringing them together at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield. People don't know where their clothes come from. This is a chance for them to come, touch, see, be around local animals with local people, local farms. The New England Sheep and Wool Growers Association helping to host the event full of sheer brilliance and quality wool, plus showing those attending how to spin. Wool is the main attraction of the Fiber Expo. People getting a chance to interact with the alpacas, the sheep and all the other animals here helping to promote local agriculture. These animals are winning over people's hearts, making the event even more worthwhile. People also taking a closer look at the production process of fiber and seeing how it can turn into clothing, blankets, rugs, stuffed animals, and so many more items. About 150 vendors coming to the expo to show off their work. This is a perfect opportunity for the public to come and see what all of us agriculture farmers do, whether we're sheep owners, alpaca owners, llama owners, angora owners. It's a great opportunity for the public to come and ask us questions and learn where their clothing comes from. And it's drawing a crowd, not just folks from the Western Mass area. But from the surrounding states, too, saying they're taking the trip because... It's great. It's a great variety of things, and I do needle felting, so it can be hard to find a good fiber for that. But here is, I pretty much come here and I spend a lot of money once a year, and that's where I get all my stuff. People coming year after year to enjoy all the perks the expo has to offer. I'm here for my third year in a row because I adore everything fiber. I get to pet all the animals. And get lots of exotic and interesting fibers. If you think you missed out on all the fun, well, you're in luck. The Fiber Festival of New England is happening from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday as well.