Events
UPDATE: We had a typo: The Festival is for all of Pennsylvania, but will be held in Armstrong County.
Did you know? The Dayton Fair, held in Armstrong County since 1875, features traditional livestock exhibitions including sheep, goats, and fiber arts competitions, making it one of the oldest agricultural fairs in the region still showcasing wool-bearing livestock and handcrafts.
What a perfect place for the 1st annual Pennsylvania Sheep & Wool Festival
This will be a vibrant gathering celebrating Pennsylvania’s rich agricultural heritage and the people who sustain it.
Through sheep shows, seminars, artisan vendors, and hands-on demos, the festival fosters creativity and connection — from sheep to shawl.
Festival Date: October 11 & 12, 2025
Location: Dayton Fairgrounds, Armstrong County, PA
Dayton Fairgrounds
Route 839 North
Dayton, PA 16222
(Armstrong County)
Indonesian Textile Tour 2026
Having run textile tours in Indonesia with SeaTrek for a number of years, this year the tour will be with Asia Global Yachting using a more luxurious boat, but at a significantly lower price.
The tour spaces filled quickly and the last trip was a great success. The toue will run again in 2026, but adding one extra day on the boat to give time to visit yet another island. The tour is 15 nights long, with 8 spent on the boat and 7 in hotels (4 nights before the cruise and 3 nights after). Weavers and dyers will be visited on a total of eight different islands.
Days will be spent visiting weaving communities, enjoying exclusive demonstrations of their spinning, binding, dyeing and weaving techniques – including the marine dyes used on Ternate and the fascinating supplementary and complementary warp techniques used on Sumba, as well answering the question ‘when is a warp not a warp?’. Participants will discover the role played by textiles in local societies, visit local markets, schools, and museums, and of course have time to snorkel, kayak or paddleboard over coral reefs. This trip is great not only for textile lovers, but also for anyone with an interest in learning about other cultures.
The trip starts at Ende on the island of Flores on 4th May 2026 and ends on Sumba on May 19th. Both of these islands are reached from Bali by short domestic flights. Full details of the tour, including pricing and a great video of the boat, can be found on our website https://www.asiantextilestudies.com/tour.html
There are only five cabins remaining so if this is of interest to you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Website http://www.asiantextilestudies.com/
Blog https://asiantextilestudies.wordpress.com/
MidAtlantic Fiber Association (MAFA)
If you missed mafa movie night check the past links below for content viewed
THE CHALLENGE:
Weavers and fiber artists are encouraged to create their own interpretation/representation of the American flag in an 8” x 8” square. Selected pieces will be assembled into a finished coverlet, which will be added to the Thousand Islands Arts Center~Home of the Handweaving Museum’s permanent collection. The piece will be displayed in the new Thousand Islands Arts Center facility throughout the summer and fall of 2026 and will be available as a traveling exhibition to interested organizations beginning in 2027.
