SHELBURNE — The annual fundraiser for Fabric of Life is back after a two-year hiatus, offering a variety of workshops for attendees.
The event will start Saturday at 1 p.m. at 80 Bassett Road. The festival is free to attend, although donations will be accepted. Each workshop lasts 45 minutes and the cost is $10 to participate. Attendees can register for workshops at fabric-of-life.org/barnfest-2022.
“There is fun for the family,” said Becky Ashenden, founder of Fabric of Life and owner of the weaving school.
Fabric of Life has been an official nonprofit for eight years. According to its website, the nonprofit is dedicated to the “preservation and passing on of knowledge and skills that enrich our daily lives.”
Ashenden said she hopes Barnfest will drum up excitement for the workshops that happen year-round.
“It is hard to get people to sign up for programs in some of these areas of skills we want to preserve,” Ashenden said.
Saturday’s workshops will run from 1 to 4 p.m. Joe Blumenthal will teach Balkan rhythms on the doumbek drum, as well as ukulele. Van Kaynor is running multiple fiddling workshops. Andrea Caluori will teach linocut printmaking and Carolyn Wetzel will have a Dorset button session.
Additionally, glassblower Kirin Bourgeois will provide a demonstration alongside two other glassblowers. Oak Hollow Livestock will bring baby animals for attendees to pet and hold.
There will also be a spinning wheel run by Justin Squizzero. Attendees can spin raw wool into yarn to be used for various projects.
A sock knitting machine from Good Karma Farm will run all day. There will also be multiple large looms that will be used to make a tablecloth, towel and blanket that will later be raffled off at dinner.
A parade at 4 p.m., led by the brass band Prone to Mischief, will bring attendees to a communal supper. Three different Balkan bands will play music during dinner. One band listed to play is a group of middle school fiddlers. Contra dancing and Balkan dances that will be held after dinner.
Everyone offering demonstrations at Barnfest is a volunteer, Ashenden noted.
“We have a lot of people invested in the organization,” Ashenden said.
For more information, visit fabric-of-life.org/barnfest-2022.
Contact Bella Levavi
at 413-930-4579 or
blevavi@recorder.com.