There was a printing error in the print edition of the March 20 edition. The full story is below.
The inaugural Arizona Fiber Festival hosted by the Arizona Federation of Weavers and Spinners Guilds will be held in Camp Verde from Friday through Sunday, April 5 through 7, at 51 Hollamon Street.
The festival will feature a variety of fiber arts, including both finished products and educational pieces, as well as workshops, demonstrations, a vendor market and booths representing the state’s different fiber arts guilds. Displays and activities will include dyeing, weaving, spinning, knitting, felting, crocheting, braiding and embroidery.
“The Arizona Federation of Weavers and Spinners Guilds was chartered and incorporated to promote weaving, spinning, dyeing, basketry and allied fiber arts within Arizona and in general,” the federation’s website states. “The focus of the federation is to support the member guilds and encourage joint guild activities by coordinating educational opportunities for its members around the state.”
“It’s a good way for people to learn about fibers that are going on in our community,” Nancy Wilson of the Verde Valley Weavers and Spinners Guild said. “There’s a lot of people out there who are perhaps spinners or knitters and didn’t realize there was a community of like-minded people out there.”
She added that the event is intended to both encourage those already working in fiber art and help those interested in the topic learn about the different guilds in the state.
The Verde Valley Weavers and Spinners Guild will have their own booth with examples of programs they have previously run and are planning to run, as well as providing other general information. They will offer demonstrations and display members’ work. The guild has around 50 members throughout the Verde Valley region.
Wilson said that the federation used to hold an event called Fibers Through Time which did not take place during the past few years, and that this inaugural event would help bring the fiber art community back together.
“Fiber people are always willing and interested to share what they do with others,” Wilson said. “It’s just something different to do and you can see things that perhaps you’ve not seen done before.”
Wilson added that it was interesting to see kids getting involved and to show them that people didn’t always go to the store to buy clothes, but rather made their clothes by hand.
“It’s fun for spinners, weavers and fiber artists to share what they love doing with people who maybe don’t know a whole lot about it and might be interested in it,” Wilson said.
The Verde Valley Weavers and Spinners Guild will also be hosting their annual fundraising sale at the Sedona Arts Center on May 18, and have a display of members’ work on exhibit at the Camp Verde Community Library to coincide with the festival. The festival will run from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.
