Wool and Fiber Expo underway in Ocean City

By Jack Chavez Staff Writer

(Feb. 3, 2023) The ninth annual Wool and Fiber Expo is back at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center today through Sunday.

Twenty-three vendors will be onhand and 12 classes will be offered at the event that showcases products that people will be hard-pressed to find anywhere other than from these vendors.

“This is the ninth year of the show and it just keeps getting better,” said event organizer Susan Childs.

This show began as an opportunity for local farmers to sell their sheep and alpaca wool, Childs said. She anticipates around 1,500 attendees this year.

“We also have a large contingency of weavers, quilters and spinners here on the shore and I wanted them to be able to access raw product when they needed it,” she said.

Her own experience goes back to her days as a spinner at Furnace Town Historical Site outside of Snow Hill “many years ago,” she said.

“I got the idea (for classes at the expo) while I was in the doctor’s office waiting for an appointment and I was knitting — the girl next to me said that she would love to learn but all the classes available were during the day during the week. Our classes are very well received,” Childs said.

Some of the classes include “Beginners road to successful knitting,” “Felted Soaps,” “Beginners Counted Cross Stitch” and “Beginners Needle Felting”.

Classes range from $15 to $59.50 and some are offered multiple times throughout the weekend.

Childs said as the years have gone by, the event has attracted new farms and vendors “from as far away as New York.”

“I am really excited about the variety of vendors that we have this year — there are two wood turners, there is a yarn store that has closed its doors but is bringing (its) product to our area, there is a vendor that reclaims yarn from sweaters found in thrift stores, there is a store that used to be in Baltimore that has closed but brings their quilting fabric to sell by the yard. I could go on.”

“This is a must-attend event because it is only one time a year and the products that are available cannot be found anywhere else here on the shore.”

Admission for a single day to the Wool and Fiver Expo is $4. It is $5 for the weekend. For more information or to see a list of vendors and classes, visit https://woolandfiber.com.