The 39th annual Lambtown Festival, held October 4th & 5th in Dixon, CA, aims to transform popular misconceptions about sheep and wool. “When most people think about wool, they’re thinking about a scratchy gift from grandma, or an itchy, heavy blanket,” says festival president Roy Clemes. “But wool is so much more than that. It is the original miracle fiber, which is why humans started cultivating sheep thousands of years ago. It is fire resistant. It keeps us cool when it is hot out and warm when it is cool out. It can absorb 30% of its weight in water. A garment made of wool is fully compostable, meaning it does not have to go to a landfill when it is no longer usable.” Vendors are known to encourage squishing their wares, a tactile experience that relays how soft and comfortable wool garments can be.
The festival derives its name from the fact the city of Dixon used to produce more lambs than any city in the country, earning itself the nickname “Lambtown USA” early in the 20th century. But there is little evidence of the burgeoning city’s sheepy past as fields that used to be home to sheep have been turned into housing tracts. A variety of activities are designed to entertain, educate, and re-normalize sheep and wool as an integral part of our daily lives.
Attendees to this two-day celebration of sheep, lamb, and wool will find enthusiastic instructors, demonstrators, and vendors ready to sing the praises of their favorite ruminant. Taking over the Dixon May Fairgrounds, the festival features three pavilions of fiber-arts-related vendors, two barns full of sheep, and competitions for hand-spun yarn, finished garments, and textiles. Spectators with a vested interest as well as the uninitiated find themselves mesmerized by the rhythms and pageantry of sheep breed and fleece competitions. A fan favorite is Sunday’s Sheep to Shawl challenge wherein a raw fleece is transformed into a finished shawl by a team of spinners and weavers in less than half a day. Popular demonstrations taking place throughout the weekend include sheep shearing and sheep herding, in which working dogs show off their ability to drive, turn, and hold a flock of sheep at the shepherd’s command. Saturday features a circular sock machine crank-in, a demonstration of hand-operated knitting machines that can turn yarn into socks in a matter of hours, as well as the California Make It With Wool Competition’s annual fashion show. New for this year is Fleece Skirting Demonstrations, exhibiting the process of sorting and preparing a sheep fleece once it has been shorn.
In the heart of the fairgrounds is Wooly Adventures, a hands-on learning experience for all ages, with make-and-takes and demonstrations of spinning, felting, and weaving, as well as sheep-themed crafts. The wee ones (and the young at heart) can also enjoy a duet of story walks, a petting zoo, a wagon ride, and sheep-themed games. All kids’ activities, as well as competition and demonstration viewing, are free.
Despite the seemingly narrow focus of the event, Clemes says it has broad appeal to those with a variety of interests. “If you are crafter or a foodie or into fashion, this going to be right up your alley. But you can also find some eco-friendly swaps for the home with wool sponges instead of those made of plastic and dryer balls instead of single use dryer sheets. Pellets made of waste wool not only make great mulch for the garden, but feed carbon into the soil as they break down. Sheep are great at reducing wildfire fuel through grazing, while solar grazing – the act of using sheep to keep vegetation down around solar panel installations while simultaneously increasing soil carbon content – is gaining popularity nationwide.”
Add to all this an array of food vendors with a special emphasis on lamb, live music featuring local bands, and convenient on-site tent and RV camping, and Lambtown Festival will be a weekend to remember for the whole family.
Admission is $20 on Saturday and $15 on Sunday with Weekend Passes available for $25 in advance. Sunday afternoon tickets are available for just $5. Entrance is free to children 13 and under. Parking is free. To order your tickets, view the schedule, reserve a campsite, or register for workshops and competitions, visit https://www.lambtown.org.
