00:00
[Applause]
00:01
[Music]
00:06
a great believer that we all have
00:10
stories to tell and I think ours in this
00:12
valley is about the history of the Sheep
00:17
you have to realize that this is the
00:19
oldest form of Agriculture that's ever
00:22
been on the planet and I think that's
00:25
one of the most significant developments
00:26
of mankind and it's something who've not
00:30
very well appreciated and it should be
00:33
[Music]
00:43
today you're standing at the 23rd annual
00:44
sheep Folklife fair our authentic living
00:47
history to celebrate all things of the
00:50
sheep industry trailing is when you're
00:52
just moving the Sheep from place to
00:53
place as they migrate our festival is
00:56
based around their migration south it is
00:58
not a reenactment
00:59
it's Idaho living history these are
01:01
sheep that have been grazing in the
01:03
mountains all summer that now need to
01:05
make it south to find a place to grace
01:06
for winter and instead of taking them
01:08
down their natural sheep driveway we
01:10
bring them down Main Street to celebrate
01:11
them there's classes you can take
01:13
whether you want to cook with lamb
01:14
whether you want to learn to dye wool
01:16
there's there's wolf s classes there's
01:18
cooking classes you can visit vendors
01:20
watch them weave and spin and take home
01:22
some wolves to try yourself
01:23
we have about 25,000 visitors and locals
01:26
that attend our festival last year we
01:28
had people from 49 states and 15
01:30
countries word has gotten out about our
01:32
festival we keep it authentic we keep it
01:34
genuine we really are here to celebrate
01:36
and educate the history of sheep herding
01:38
and ranching in Idaho and the West
01:41
so excited I mean how can you not be
01:44
excited to see all these people wanting
01:46
to know about the things that we care so
01:48
much about it so my 23rd year I come
01:51
down to run every class in the wool fest
01:53
portion of trailing of the Sheep and
01:55
this class that you're seeing today is a
01:58
wet felting class felt is the oldest
02:01
textile made in human history so this is
02:04
water friction merino wool maybe a
02:07
little alpaca and a lot of muscle these
02:10
are just awesome women we have a full
02:12
class today and it's bustling what we're
02:17
all doing is laying out our road pieces
02:20
of roving we'd wet it down with water
02:23
and a cup of soap and now we're
02:25
educating the fibers so they will bond
02:29
together and we will come up with a
02:32
marvelous piece of fabric something like
02:38
this and texture very very light very
02:40
ethereal textiles by their nature are
02:43
tactile and therefore spiritual we wrap
02:45
ourselves we wrap people we love right
02:49
it's comforting it's not just about the
02:50
look and so for me it is a very soulful
02:53
experience to create any kind of test
02:55
style but wool in particular I love
02:57
really comes right from the earth right
02:59
from nature
03:02
a fiber artist specializing in tapestry
03:05
weaving and I've been doing this since
03:08
1970s
03:09
and I have a group of very interesting
03:11
people some of them are accomplished
03:13
weavers and they're just interested in
03:16
learning a new technique and some of
03:19
them are beginners I think when you're
03:22
spinning your mind wanders and even when
03:24
you're weaving you know everything just
03:26
kind of falls into place you can you
03:28
just let it go
03:30
it's an amazing event I love all the
03:32
interaction of all the different people
03:34
that are here and all the products that
03:35
are here I've been sewing since I was a
03:38
young girl and now that I found making
03:40
rugs I've just gone crazy with it I love
03:45
making the rugs that I make from my wall
03:47
products it's not leaving it because I
03:51
don't weep might make them literally by
03:53
hand sometimes is very frustrating and
03:55
it's like oh this is like the nightmare
03:57
of the nightmares but to see these rugs
04:01
completed just look at look at the
04:02
wonderful colors any of them just fills
04:07
you with joy just filthy with joy I am
04:11
the creator of the sheet pile footstool
04:13
and I come from Germany and I brought my
04:16
product with me three years ago it
04:19
actually originated as an art
04:21
installation when we took them downtown
04:22
Frankfort it was a one flock of 100 foot
04:25
stools it has a lot of love to create
04:27
this little guy the sanding and the wood
04:29
cutting and I love making every single
04:31
one of them I was a sheep herder for
04:32
several years for a ranch and in Idaho
04:35
and now I chase them with the camera
04:39
get into training the simple version is
04:43
my husband I worked in Africa studying
04:45
African Wild Dogs for six years and then
04:48
when I came back to the US I saw a sheep
04:49
dog chow and so then I decided I want a
04:52
border collie and for 18 years I got
04:53
various rescues that could not hurt and
04:55
finally eight years ago I got one that
04:58
had all that you know all the talent he
05:00
ran here three years ago and so my first
05:01
dog took a long time to go through and
05:04
then once I had it you're off and
05:05
running a lot of times it's just
05:07
patience that you're learning you gotta
05:09
let things take time so raise precocious
05:11
shoes easy to Train things were fun easy
05:13
and it happened very easily and right
05:15
now at home I've got a two year old dog
05:17
who's normal and so I have to let it be
05:20
that he's normal and I things are gonna
05:22
take longer and be patient and accept
05:25
each tiny little step forward that you
05:27
see and you do that with people if you
05:29
do that with your kids and everything
05:32
works out so well the kids were easier
05:35
than this a typical day for sheep burger
05:39
involves getting up before daylight
05:41
finding your sheep following them as
05:44
they graze until the day gets hot then
05:48
they lay down and then you either go
05:49
back to camp or are you lay down and
05:53
there were my Zen moments when I'd be
05:55
sitting there on a hillside and what the
05:57
whole world in front of me and I'll just
05:58
go this is perfect this is where I want
06:00
to be
06:08
you
Share
Consistently listed among the top ten Fall Festivals worldwide, The Trailing of the Sheep Festival in historic Sun Valley, Idaho is hosted every October, an experience that can only be described as a mixture of the local 4th of July Parade on Main Street USA, Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, and a living, breathing DIY Pinterest page. Take peek at what makes this gem of a festival so extraordinary.
Common Message
Site Map
Comments