Sarah Williams
Beaver Staff
The inaugural Farm to Fashion Fibre Fest is taking place Sept. 7 at Hickory Lane Alpacas. The farm, situated in the beauty of rural Lennox and Addington County, boasts 60 acres for families to enjoy as part of this event.
Deb Coles, who owns Hickory Lane Alpacas, spoke with the Beaver in anticipation of this event.
“We’ve been raising alpacas for about 12 years now. Part of it is that natural fibres make beautiful clothing. Why would you want to wear cheap fabrics wen you can use natural ones?” asks Coles.
Natural fibres have seemingly been experiencing a revival of late, and Coles suggests this is, in part, due to their smaller ecological footprint, being a more environmentally friendly option than petroleum based fabrics.
The event will be comprised of a barn tour, featuring a peacock and his mate, some exotic chickens, a couple of horses and some pigs. There will also be Angora Bunnies.
Participating farms include: Silver Cloud Alpacas, Topsy Farms, Kinnaird Farms, Silver Birch Alpacas, Stone Spindle Farms as well as several talented fibre artisans.
There will even be a demonstration of how to groom French Angora Rabbits.
Coles notes that although a large part of the resurgence of interest in natural fibres is due to their ecological sustainability, the animals that provide their fibre do not have to die in the process.
“It’s nice on a whole lot of levels,” enthused Coles.
The event, which runs from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m is free and family friendly, with supervised crafts and activities for children.
“We will have beverages for sale, but we encourage people to bring a picnic lunch, relax, and enjoy the scenery,” said Coles.
In the event of rain, the event will carry on, albeit under a tent provided by the Lions Club.