Meander on up to Watch Border Collies at Work

EverythingDogBlog #40

    

EverythingDogBlog #40: Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival with Border Collies in Action

by Skye Anderson, MS

Although canines are not permitted at the 40^th Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, the working sheep dog demos are not to be missed! Generally border collies (see photo), they love and live to ‘work the sheep’ and herd them where the shepherd tells them to. Find out more about border collies at the Mid-Atlantic Border Collie Rescue (MABCR) booth and see if your family is a good match for a border collie.

The first full weekend in May is always the free, all-volunteer Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival at the Howard County Maryland Fairgrounds. If you are a knitter, a crocheter, a 4H person, a sheep person, a dog person or just interested in great food, this is the place to go the weekend of 4 and 5 May (9-6 Saturday and 9-5 Sunday).

My advice is to get there early! Let me repeat that – get there early. In the past, there have been traffic tie-ups on Route 32 and even Route 70 since up to 50,000 people are expected.

Attend a lively auction. Watch the sheep-to-shawl contest where a team shears a sheep, spins it into yarn and weaves a shawl – all in less than 3 hours (http://www.sheepandwool.org/events_detail.php?eid=350).

Too many vendors to count, but All About Yarn will be there again, along with vendors from several states. AAY is the simply the best yarn store in Howard County (for knitting and crochet lessons, too). They have the most scrumptious colors, softest yarns, and most unique gadgets. The store itself will be closed this weekend so the staff can staff the booth at the Festival. Check them out (www.allaboutyarn.com).

Classes for kids and adults; delicious meals (more than mere fair fare); the Maryland Lamb and Wool Queen; lamb cooking demos; sheep shearing demos; spinning; working sheep dog demos at 11, 1 and 3 each day; a lamb cook-off; basic shepherding; a family hoe-down; a wool fashion show; story telling; cheese to buy; a shawl for grandma; luscious yarns to bring back; learn to knit or crochet or spin - I could go on and on, but you get the picture. I’ll see you there.

(This blog first appeared on ColumbiaPatch.com on 30 April 2013.)