The Deep South Fibre Festival is a new initiative from Creative Fibre Southland with an aim to pass on a passion for wool craft.
Event organiser Amy Hughes said the idea was sparked when she attended WoolFeast Christchurch.
"There’s a wealth of knowledge and skills in our Creative Fibre Southland groups and I wanted to start an event in Gore to share it," she said.
"We have crafters of all sorts in our groups — spinners, weavers, knitters, dyers, flax workers, felters, crocheters.
"These are all skills our grandmothers learnt and it’s important to learn them before its too late and they become a lost art."
The event will run over two days and will include a trader-style market, displays and workshops, Ms Hughes said.
"Our event will bring yarn, wool and other natural fibres from alpaca, sheep and even llama from all over the South Island. There will be displays of all sorts of fibre-related items, including Hokonui Fashion Awards garments.
"Learning wool craft is a hands-on learning experience so we will also be hosting a number of workshops. We even have a Craft Galore event for children."
- The Deep South Fibre Festival will be held on Saturday, May 4-5, at the Gore Town and Country Club.
