Black Sheep Festival---Farm Fun Came to the Village Thursday
Even the sheep had a baaaaaahlast at the Black Sheep Festival on Thursday. From 4pm to 7pm in conjunction with the farmers market, Manchester celebrated it's sheep farming past and it's agricultural present.
Ruth VanBogelen, one of the event organizers, explained the importance of Manchester's sheep farming heritage, "for many years (even as late as the 1970's), Washenaw County had the most sheep of any county west of the Mississippi River and, of course, the Manchester area was a major contributor to the sheep numbers. Even today, there are many sheep farms in the Manchester area."
Dave Roehm, lifetime Manchester resident, performed 2 sheep shearing demonstrations. Roehm, 70 years of age, has been shearing sheep since the age of 13. He now does sheep shearing demonstrations at events all over the area. The sheep had 2 years worth of wool growth, so the transformation was impressive and captivated the large crowd gathered to watch.
In addition to the market, and the demo, there was a produce contest that showcased large, beautiful and/or unusual fruits, vegetables and flowers. Although anyone could enter, farmers market vendors brought the majority of the entries in the produce and flower contest. After the judging and awarding of the ribbons, everyone at the festival got a chance to vote for their favorite vegetable entry and their favorite flower entry.
Ron and Judy Mann and their grandchildren brought an antique cast iron rope making machine. Festival goers each got a turn making their own rope to take home as a souvenir. Judy Mann stated that although they spent many hours making rope with their grandchildren in the backyard, this was the first event they'd brought it to but they thought they might do this at more events in the future.
Lorrie Green worked the spinning wheel, spinning wool and the Black Sheep Quilters showed off quilts at their booth. They meet the 4th Friday of October, January, March and May in the Village Room (under the library) from 10am to 2pm. They welcome new and experienced quilters.
Some downtown businesses stayed open late for the festival. Businesses open included Frank's Place Restaurant, The Wild Acorn, Worth Repeating, The Manchester Pharmacy, Ollie's Pizza, Dairy Queen and Stockwell's Dinner Tonight. Franks Place served lamb gyros for the occasion.
Van Bogelen thought the event went well, especially for a new event. She stated that it was highly likely that they will hold this event again. They hope to grow it in size, possibly adding a farm expo next time, to highlight many more local farms.
The agri-tourism group that organized the festival is planning other events as well. They would like to link downtown businesses to Alber's Orchard together maybe for a special weekend this fall. They are also thinking about piloting farm tours next summer. If you haven't had a chance to take their survey, you can take it HERE.
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