An assortment of colorful spun fibers were among the offerings at the Prairie City Fiber Fest on Sunday, July 30, 2023. Wildfire smoke led to the cancellation of the event in 2024, but it returns in 2025 on July 26 and 27. (Justin Davis/Blue Mountain Eagle, File) 

Town’s only multi-day event returns after wildfire smoke in 2024 led to cancellation

PRAIRIE CITY — After a one year hiatus — Prairie City Fiber Fest is back.

The sixth annual Fiber Fest in Prairie City from Saturday, July 26 to Sunday, July 27. The Fiber Fest welcomes a large variety of fiber vendors from across the Northwest and beyond to showcase their wares at indoor and outdoor locations in downtown Prairie City.

The Fiber Fest will take over downtown Prairie City for the first time since the 2023 event. Last year’s Fiber Fest was cancelled at the eleventh hour due to road closures and smoke in the wake of the busy fire season.

Fiber Fest attendees will have their choice of 14 workshops, covering topics that include ice dyeing, pine needle and wicker style basketry, needle and wet felting creatures and punch needle rug hooking spinning with drop spindles repairing knitting. Workshops start on July 25 and continue through July 27.

Shoppers will be able to find everything from raw fleece and roving to colorful plied yarns and finished handcrafted items at the two-day event. Shopping hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 26 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 27.

Prairie City Fiber Fest Board President Trish Lindaman said vendors at the event seem to prefer the smaller, more intimate and hands-on setting at the Prairie City Fiber Fest as opposed to the massive fiber festivals elsewhere. She said several vendors have been appearing at the Fiber Fest every year since its inception.

“We’ve been going since 2019 and there are about 10 vendors that have come here every year,” she said. “Last year when we had to cancel, 99% of our vendors said ‘We’re going to come back next year, just keep my money (because) we’ll be back.’”

Calico Farm Fiber Art, Westwynd Fiber, Rabbit Hill Wool Mill, Stacy’s Wool & Whimsy and Felting Fiber will all be making their first appearance at the festival this year.

One of the goals of the Fiber Fest is to draw tourists into Prairie City and Grant County. As the only multi-day event in Prairie City, Lindaman said she thinks the fest’s efforts have had a positive effect on the city’s businesses and residents.

“In addition to fondling all this fun fiber, whether it’s yarn or fleeces or a shawl or a hat — we also want to get people to visit Eastern Oregon, “ she said. “It’s an attempt to, yes, pull all these fiber people here, but it is also an attempt to draw (other) people here.”

Lindaman said there always are comments about how friendly Prairie City is from those who do make the trip to Fiber Fest. She said that leads to vendors wanting to come back to the event every year, along with repeat workshop attendees and repeat shoppers.

The Fiber Fest awards a $1,000 scholarship each year to a graduating Grant County Future Farmers of America or 4H member. This year’s recipients are Prairie City graduate Skylar McKay and Grant Union graduate Monell Anderson.

For those who have heard about the Prairie City Fiber Fest but have yet to attend the event, Lindaman quoted Nike’s famous slogan, “Just do it.”

“Even if you never want to learn how to knit or spin or weave, there are still things that you could purchase here,” she said. “You can talk to all these experts and they love talking about their craft — because we’re not this enormous fiber show that you have in other places, you will get one-one one experience here with people who know their craft.”

There still are some things Lindaman needs prior to the start of Prairie City Fiber Fest. Chef among them are volunteers and a food vendor. Lindaman said she’s hopeful 1188 Brewing will provide beer, wine and spirits to attendees, but that is dependent on securing a food vendor for the event.