THANK YOU to all who vended, learned, taught and attended the 2nd annual Midwest Fiber & Folk Art Fair!

For those of you who are local - the Fine Fiber & Folk Art Show and the Vintage Handbag exhibit remain up at McHenry County College through August 15 - go see! We had quite a few compliments on those exhibits at the fair.

We will have fair surveys up in August - please give us your feedback so we can improve the fair from year to year.

Stay tuned for information about the 2009 fair - coming soon! For now, we will leave up this year's fair information so you can look back.

COME CELEBRATE THE WORK OF OUR HANDS - next weekend at the Midwest Fiber & Folk Art Fair! And celebrate we will - just look at all the ways we have found to present those works:

FEATURES & EVENTS AT THE FAIR: the fair is now wrapped up with a pretty bow on it - just for you! Here is what's inside:

The Fair Map: click here to see the entire fair at a glance!

The Vendors: We now have 120 vendors! Click here to see the list.

Workshops: Some classes were cancelled, but we still have 45 GREAT workshops going! A few are full - so if you are planning a workshop, now is the time to sign up! Click here for workshops. PS - you will be given your classroom assignment at the Fair.

Demonstrations and Mini Lessons: click here to see a schedule.

The Fine Fiber & Folk Art Show: click here to see the artists and works of 2008.

Fashion on Parade: Our first "do it yourself" fashion show, sponsored by Wool, Warp, and Wheel. YOU can participate! Click here for details!

Just for Kids: click here to see what we've got lined up for the kids!

Music at the Fair: We believe a fair should feed ALL your senses, click here for a full list of music!

Food at the Fair: Yum! Click here.

Vintage Handbag Exhibit Wait til you see it! The exhibit is based upon a 1945 Coats & Clark handbag pattern. Click here for information about the exhibit. Photo used with permission of Coats & Clark.

The 2008 FIBER & TEXTILE ART AWARD! Please join us with Toni Neil our donor, and naac when State Senator Pamela J Althoff announces the first TWO recipients of our $2000 scholarship at 10:30am on Sunday, July 20.

Welcome to "The Flock"! You should see our WONDERFUL charter membership pin! Designed by Patricia Lynn Designs, we'll have pins at the fair for members to pick up. If you want a pin, we'll have membership information available at the Fair Booth on the Lower Level!

WE ARE ALL PREPARING FOR YOU!!
SEE YOU AT THE FAIR THIS WEEKEND!

Did you know? According to an article on the front page of the Wall Street Journal this past weekend (April 19) 53 MILLION Americans are now knitting? WooHoo!!

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Welcome to the 2nd annual Midwest Fiber & Folk Art Fair! We believe that a fair should delight all the senses. So we set out to do just that in 2007 and the response was wonderful. We are repeating that performance in 2008, with improvements!

We are dedicated to bringing you the best in:

• Art Marketplace - supplies, finished art pieces, finished wearable art, folk art and more
• Fiber & Folk Art Education - with workshops covering many disciplines
• Fiber & Folk Inspiration - with a Fine Fiber & Folk Art Show
• Introduce you to various fiber & folk arts through demonstrations
• Family Entertainment - with Just for Kids, great food, musical entertainment and more

In fact, the goals of the fair spell out E-I-E-I-O (Empower, Inspire, Enrich, Introduce, Opportunity).

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Do It In Public - It Feels GOOD! - I promise to get photos up after the fair and - by popular demand, we'll keep "Do It In Public" going! Stay tuned when the fair is over for details. In the meantime, think about having us come to your area - all you have to do is tell us where, invite your friends, and name a place like Borders or a coffee/tea shop!

Bring your latest fiber project and meet up to discuss all the latest fair news, knitting challenges and quilting patterns. We'll have bookmarks available for you to take back to your guilds and friends. We are doing art in public to support the arts in Illinois, to promote guilds, fiber arts businesses and the fair, and to network and get to know one another!

New Vendors The application period for the 2008 fair is now closed. If we have any spaces left, we will post them in May, please check the site then. If you are interested in vending in 2009, please sign up for our vendor mailing list. (NOTE: If you are vending at the 2008 fair you are already on the list).

Volunteers! We are looking for volunteers to help the fair. If you are interested and have some time, please fill out our Volunteer Form so we know how to contact you.

Mailing List - If you would like to receive periodic emails about the fair, or a mailing later next year, please fill out our mailing list form. Please note: In an effort to keep admission costs down, we will only email updates and notices to you. If you sign up for our list, please make sure that you are not blocking our email address. If our email is rejected, we will remove you from the email list.