Estes Park Wool Market is, hands down, one of our favorite shows every year. Why? Because it is by far and away the most picturesque setting of any sheep and wool festival in the country!
Fun Fact: The white building on the left hand side of the above photo is the hotel Stephen King used as his inspiration for writing The Shining!
The beauty of Estes Park and the Rocky Mountains cannot be overstated; if you haven’t been, you should definitely make plans to visit.
The Wool Market usually takes place during calving season for the local elk population. They are literally in and around the town, and often give birth on the golf course in the center of town. I snapped a couple photos while riding in the truck; they’re blurry, but they’ll give you an idea of what we saw every day. Estes Park definitely belongs to the local elk.
As with most festivals, our first day in town is set up day – we prep both our booth area and our classroom space. The workshops are held in a middle school, so our classroom is an actual classroom!
If you’ve never been to the Wool Market, there is a ton to see and do. In addition to taking one of our classes (hint hint), there are animals, demos, and competitions. This year, at one of the shearing demos, I couldn’t help myself from pitching in to skirt fleece for a few minutes. Our good friend Kira Dulaney judged the skeins and textiles competition.
Of course, one of the main draws for folks are the animals. This year, the barns has many breeds of sheep, including Valais Blacknose, Jacob Sheep, and CVM.
If you’re interested, workshops for the 2024 Estes Park Wool Market are now online and open for registration. You know you want to see those adorable sheep faces in person!