If you were to ask me what day of the year I get most excited for, it isn’t Christmas or my birthday, it’s the New York Sheep and Wool Festival aka Rhinebeck. It’s the largest fiber festival in the world with about 50,000 people attending and it’s held in the Hudson Valley in fall when the foliage is gorgeous.
I hadn’t been able to attend since 2021 due to a lot of different things, but this year my best friend and I decided we needed to go in order to make some space for ourselves. She had been caring for her late mother during her battle with cancer for the last few years. I’ve been dealing with a landslide of aging parent issues, and to make that more difficult one of those parents is a narcissist.
Added to that is the fact that every day there seems to be some new kind of horror being reported in the news. I’m scared for my gay niece and sister. I’m scared for my trans friends. I’m scared for my job which is being impacted by tariffs.
It’s a lot.
I wasn’t sure what to expect at Rhinebeck this year, since other sheep and wool festivals have been smaller partly due to those same tariffs (most wool is processed outside the US) and a down economy making travel harder.
I shouldn’t have worried. Once again I was reminded that fiber people are, by and large, incredibly kind and supportive of diversity.
Knitting and other fiber arts have a history of being forms of resistance. In WWI and WWII knitters used different stitches to encode messages into their work. After the 2016 election Pussy Hats were everywhere, and women’s marches were a sea of pink, knitted headwear. There’s also the fact that knitting groups appear innocuous but are a way for women and other marginalized groups to gather without scrutiny.
Rhinebeck wasn’t smaller this year: it was overflowing. In fact there were three “pre-Rhinebeck” events to allow vendors who didn’t make the list to show their goods: Cakepalooza, a Woolen Affair and Indie Untangled.
The lines were long, but people were incredibly patient and kind. I’ve noticed over the past ten months that people seem more comfortable being rude or hostile in public spaces but that didn’t translate over to this festival. People happily shared their space with others, complimented one another’s sweaters, and were patient even when the internet went down for some vendors and the wait times crawled by.
The space was also incredibly welcoming and inclusive of queer folks. In my personal experience, my knitting groups have been pretty much 50/50 queer and straight/cis folks. From sweaters in various versions of the queer flags to people openly enjoying the space with their partners of all genders, it felt safe and welcoming to all. I live in an area where, unfortunately, people feel comfortable commenting or harassing queer folks in public, which has caused some of my loved ones and friends to withdraw more in public spaces. That was not the case here.
That said, the knitting community is still a predominantly White space. With the exception of a few notable dyers like Neighborhood Fiber Co., most of the vendors were White. There’s still work to be done in making our community more inclusive.
As we left the fairgrounds there was a group of MAGA supporters flying Trump flags and holding anti-immigrant and homophobic signs. I’m not sure if they assumed that the knitting community would be conservative or if they were just there to stir shit up, but I don’t think they were prepared for the heat they got. No one was violent, but pretty much every single car that passed them let them know what they thought. A man with an anti-immigrant sign started walking to the cars, thought better of it, and went back to his little group and sat down in a snit.
It’s been a rough year and I feel like a raw nerve sometimes. I didn’t realize how much I needed a space where everyone was kind and patient, where I didn’t witness any harassment, and where I could just relax without anxiety.
I’ve already booked my hotel for next year.
Have you attended Rhinebeck or other craft festivals and fairs? Which ones do you love?
I enjoy the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. I am an embroiderer, not a knitter, so I look for the needle felting, wool appliqué, punch needle, and crewel-ish products. I’ve also purchased music CDs and wood-turned needle cases at S&W and helped staff an Embroiderers’ Guild of America info table there. The sheep dog demonstrations are fun to watch, and a lamb sausage or lamb burger lunch has to be part of the day.
Thank you so much for this report out. Putting it on my calendar for next year.
@Elyse I envy you your travel buddy. Over the years my very few crafting buddies have drifted away from the work or moved away physically, so I end up going to these things on my own, which is not nearly as much fun. The Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee is a lot of fun: vendors, demos, classes and not so far that I need hotel room. There are generally 2-3 quilt shows in my area every year. They’re the best of both worlds: you get to enjoy beautiful artwork and empty your wallet in the vendor mall. Never saw a piece of purple hand dye I could walk away from. Best week of the year is quilt retreat. If you have a guild, or just a casual group, packing up and taking yourself away from all the distractions is a great way to recharge. Highly recommend.
Great review. Can we get a peek at what you ending up bringing home with you? I like to live vicariously.
Thanks for your report! I am envious, there is no equivalent in Northern California where I live, and I hear about Rhinebeck (and the adjacent events) via many of the knitting and pattern vendors that I follow. I’m so glad you found it a welcoming and inclusive environment as well. Even though I like events like yarn crawls, exploring like this is easier to experience a variety in one go. We need the crafting community to help us keep sane.
NC has a fiber festival in April, I went once and it was very dangerous – especially since I had just sold a piece of furniture and had cash in my pocket. Bad idea, but beautiful yarns and my kids were able to try a weaving machine – which was pretty cool.
I keep meaning to go back and attend some of the classes associated but the date always surprises me.