We spent three hours at the Festival, spoke to many merchants, crafts people, and artisans.  We also sampled a bit of country fare, petted lots of animals, and generally had a great time.

The main attraction at the Festival was the sheep shearing demonstration.  In the hands of experienced hands, a sheep is shorn in matter of minutes.

While the outside of the sheep had a light brown color, the inside color is very white.  We didn't have a chance to ask if the brown was due to dirt or if the color was permanent.

The sheep was surprisingly compliant through out the entire shearing process.  Given the size and apparent sharpness of the scissors, this was probably a good thing.

After a few minutes, the sheep was retuned to the pen with the rest...light both in weight and in color.  Here you can get a closer look at the coat and the marks from the cuts.

All of that fine wool will be spun into yarn.  Some will eventually be crafted into the various garments which will keep us warm in the New England winters.  All of this certainly is not high tech, but wonderfully "high touch."

Spring is the time of the year when our furry interns shed their Winter coat.  Traditionally, it is also the time of year when sheep get their Winter coat "harvested."  Today, we witnessed such an event first hand. 

We spent three hours at the Festival, spoke to many merchants, crafts people, and artisans.  We also sampled quite a bit of country fare, petted lots of animals, and generally had a great time.

Photographing the Festival was also a good chance for us to test some of our new gear. This was our FirstUse of the TrekPod and Kata W-32 WaistPack.  We found both performed well in this first outing and we look forward to using them extensively this Spring and Summer.   - Wan Chi Lau

Sheepshearing Festival :

1. Festival

2. Alpaca farming

3. Sheep Shearing

4. Gear

Note: Click on any of the images for a closer look.

2007 Activities:

1. SouthBeach

2. Magic Wings

2006 Activities:

1. SOWA

2. Portsmith NH

3. PumpkinFest

4. Walden Pond

5. PorscheFest