812-Laricaatar Faming, Saturday, May 21, 1994
Photographs - Lois Szymanski
Two black llamas from Loudln Llamas Ltd., In Leesburg, Virginia greet the crowds.
Maryland Lamb And Wool
Festival Attracts Crowds
LOIS SZYMANSKI
Maryland Correspondent
HOWARD CO., Md. The
twenty-first annual Maryland
Sheep and Wool Festival was held
at the Howard County Fair
grounds on Friday, May 6,
through Sunday, May 8. Sponsor
ed by the Maryland Sheep Breed
ers Association, the festival fea
tured more than 1,000 sheep from
across the United States and Can
ada. Thirty different breeds could
be seen in the sheep breeds display
bam, and later on, side by side in
the parade of breeds. Some of the
sheep were entered in competi-
of angora goats.
tion, but all were animals bred es
pecially for wool production.
Sheep breeders and producers use
the festival as an opportunity to
make private treaty sales of the
finest breeding stock and young
animals. The fleece show and sale
offered hundreds of high quality
fleeces for competition and sale.
The Maryland Sheep and Wool
Festival is known as the largest
event of its kind east of the Missis
sippi and it lived up to its reputa
tion by attracting about 40,000
visitors.
Kathy Davidson of Potosi
Sheep and Berry Farm in Glen
isep and Wool Festival check out a pair
Rock, Pennsylvania said she had
been coming to the festival for
about eight years, two years as a
vendor. “1 come to sell wool and it
is always a success,” she said. “It
is the greatest show going!”
Sheep were not the only reason
to attend. Other wool producing
animals found at the festival in
cluded llamas, angora rabbits, and
mohair and angora goats. In one
bam a liny donkey stood watch
over a small flock of sheep.
“They’re guard donkeys,” said El
lie McGaugh of Randy Irwin’s
Triple L Farms, “and they tradi
tionally protect the sheep from
dogs and coyotes and watch over
the flock.”
More than 200 craft and supply
booths sold their wares to the pub
lic. The interested buyer could
purchase anything from spinning
wheels, carders, and weaving
looms to sheep collectables. Wool
related products included raw
wool, dyed wools and fleeces as
well as intricate finished gar
ments. There were also a row of
food booths with almost anything
imaginable to eat, including lamb
kabobs, lamb barbeque, and lamb
polpies.
While Robert Mitchell, bagpi
per strolled the grounds dressed in
kilts playing lilting magical
sounds, others in traditional Gae
lic garb strummed harps and sang.
Free seminars covered topics such
as felting, rug weaving, Navaho
rugs, and knitting repair. A favor
ite among the crowds was “Drop
in and Spin” where a visitor could
leam to spin. According to festival
chairperson Gwen Handler, the
“Sheep to Shawl” contest is also a
crowd favorite. This contest
brought together teams of four to
race against each other and the
clock. Beginning with a sheep, the
team had to shear, spin and weave
wool from their animal, finishing
with a garment that was inspected
by the judges. All this was ac
complished in a three-hour time
limit.
In the bottom field, demonstra
tions of working sheep dogs
showed the inale ability of the bor
der collie breed as they herded
sheep, guided only by the whistle
of the shepherd, singling out spe
cific lambs on command. While
the Maryland Grand Lamb Cook-
Off was taking place in the kitchen
area, herdsmen sweated bullets in
(he shearing competition going on
in the bam area.
See your nearest
Dealer for Dependable
Equipment and
Dependable Service!
PENNSYLVANIA
AnnvHte. PA
BHM Farm
Equipment, Inc.
RDI, Rte. 934
717-867-2211
Carllsli
R4W Equipment Co.
35 East Willow Street
717-243-2686
Elizabethtown. PA
Messick Farm
Equipment, Inc.
Rt. 283 - Rheem's Exit
717-367-1319
Halifax, pa
Sweigard Bros.
R.D. 3, Box 13
717-896-3414
Honev Brook. PA
Dependable Motor Go.
East Main Street
215-273-3131
215-273-3737
Honev Grove. PA
Norman D. Clark
& Son, Inc.
Grove, PA
Hone'
717-734-3682
Loysville, PA
717-789-3117
MARYLAND
Frederick. MD
Ceresville
Ford New Holland, Inc.
Rt. 26 East
301-662-4197
Outside MD,
800-331-9122
NEW JERSEY
Bridgeton. NJ
Leslie G. Fogg, Inc.
Canton & Stow Creek
Landing Rd.
609-451-2727
609-935-5145
Wooditown. NJ
Owen Supply Co.
Broad Street &
East Avenue
609-769-0308
HuahesvHte. PA
Farnsworth Farm
Supplies, Inc.
103 Cemetery Street
717-584-2106
New Holland, pa
A.B.C. Groff, Inc.
110 South Railroad
717-354-4191
Olev. PA
C.J. Wonsidler Bros.
R.D. 2
215-987-6257
Pitman. PA
Schreffler Equipment
Pitman, PA
717-648-1120
Quakertown. PA
C.J. Wonsidler Bros.
R.D. 1
215-536-1935
Tamaaua. PA
Charles S. Snyder, Inc,
R.D. 3 .
717-386-5945
West Grove. PA
S.G. Lewis & Son. Inc.
R.D. 2. Box 66
215-869-2214
Washington. NJ
Smith Tractor &
Equip., Inc.
15 Hillcrest Ave.
201-689-7900