Fiber Festivals You Need to Attend in 2026 (The Needle Felter's Guide)

If you have never been to a fiber festival, let me paint you a picture. Thousands of people, many of them wearing something they made themselves, descending on a fairground or events center to collectively lose their minds over wool. 

1. Vendors selling roving in colors that don't have names yet (or really sweet names e.g. all cats or birds). 

2. Sheep. Actual sheep. 

3. A spinning competition happening somewhere nearby. 

4. Someone demonstrating needle felting at a table while a small crowd gathers and watches in genuine awe. 

5. And you (and me), standing there with a tote bag that is already full and it is only 10am.

These events are genuinely one of the best parts of being in the fiber arts world. They are also how a lot of people find their favorite wool suppliers, and how I source most of the wool that ends up in BaconAstro kits. So this guide is a little bit personal.

Below is a curated list of major fiber festivals happening in 2026, sorted by season. I have focused on the ones with the most to offer for needle felters specifically, meaning good vendor selection for wool roving, batts, and felting supplies, plus workshops where they exist. 

P.S. Dates were confirmed directly from official event sites, but always double check before booking travel because things shift!

First Up: The One Happening This Week (in my home state!)

Carolina FiberFest

March 13-14, 2026 | NC State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, NC

Carolina FiberFest is my home festival and honestly the reason I got serious about sourcing quality wool locally. This is the 19th annual event and it is held in the Jim Graham Building at the NC State Fairgrounds, which is a new venue for 2026. Workshops run Thursday through Saturday if you want to go deep, and the main marketplace is Friday and Saturday.

What you'll find as a needle felter: over 80 vendors with wool roving, raw fleeces, felting supplies, and local dyers whose color palettes will ruin you for anything you can buy online. There are also felting workshops in the class lineup, so check the Eventbrite listing for what's still available.

Admission you can buy in advance or at the door. 

Pro tip: buy in advance to skip the line because this thing fills up.

Cost estimate: Admission roughly $10-15. Budget $50-200 for supplies depending on your self-control (which at a fiber festival is basically nonexistent).

Spring Festivals

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival

May 2-3, 2026 | Howard County Fairgrounds, West Friendship, MD

Maryland Sheep and Wool is the big one on the East Coast. This is its 53rd year and it draws thousands of people from across the country. Over 200 vendors, sheepdog demos, shearing demonstrations, a massive fleece sale, and fiber arts seminars that you have to register for in advance because they sell out fast.

For needle felters, the vendor hall is where you want to spend your time. You will find roving and tops in every fiber and color you can imagine, plus tools, mats, needles, and finished work that will inspire your next three projects. New for 2026 is a hands-on learning area in the Main Exhibition Annex where you can try felting basics without any experience needed, which is a great way to hand someone a needle and a piece of wool and watch them get immediately hooked.

Admission is $12.50 online in advance. Under 18 is free. Parking is also free, but get there early on Saturday because traffic can stack up significantly on the surrounding roads.

Cost estimate: Admission $12.50/day. Honestly budget $100-300 for the vendor hall if this is your first time. There is no shame in that number.

Blue Ridge Fiber Fest

June 5-6, 2026 | blueridgefiberfest.com
Justice Carlisle Higgins Fairgrounds and Agricultural Center
1375 US-21, Sparta, NC 28675

Free admission, which is a rare and beautiful thing in this world. Blue Ridge Fiber Fest is a smaller, more intimate festival with a mountain backdrop and a genuinely warm community vibe. Good for needle felters who want to browse without feeling overwhelmed. Check the site for vendor list and workshop details as they're announced closer to the date.

Cost estimate: Free admission. Bring cash for vendors.

Summer Festivals

Estes Park Wool Market

June 13-14, 2026 | Estes Park Events Complex, Estes Park, CO

Estes Park Wool Market is free and open to the public, set in the Rocky Mountains, and has over 70 vendors plus animal shows, fiber contests, sheep shearing, and working sheepdogs. If you have never watched a sheepdog work a flock, add it to your list. It is one of those things that makes you feel briefly okay about the world.

Workshops run the Thursday and Friday before the main market weekend if you want to add structured learning to your trip. Registration for those is separate and required in advance.

Cost estimate: Free admission to the market. Workshops are paid separately.

Black Sheep Gathering

June 26-28, 2026 | Linn County Events Center, Albany, OR

Black Sheep Gathering is celebrating its 52nd year in 2026 and it is the longest-running fiber festival west of the Mississippi. Free admission and parking. The focus here is on natural-colored animals and their fiber, which means you are going to find some genuinely unusual and beautiful wool that you cannot get anywhere else. Over 120 vendors and 50 workshops. If you are on the West Coast, this is a must.

Cost estimate: Free admission. Budget generously for vendors because the wool here is exceptional and you will not regret it.

Michigan Fiber Festival

August 12-16, 2026 | Allegan County Fairgrounds, Allegan, MI

Michigan Fiber Festival runs five days, which makes it one of the longer events on this list. Wednesday and Thursday are workshops only, Friday adds shopping and demonstrations, and Saturday and Sunday are the full experience with workshops, shopping, demonstrations, and competitions. If you want to do workshops, go earlier in the week. If you just want to shop and browse, Friday through Sunday is your window.

Cost estimate: Check the site for current admission pricing.

Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival

September 11-13, 2026 | Jefferson, WI

A major Midwest festival with a strong vendor presence. Good for felting supplies and wool roving if you are in the region. Check their site for admission details and workshop registration as they come available.

Cost estimate: Low admission, typically under $15. Vendor budget: whatever you can manage.

Fall Festivals

Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF)

October 23-25, 2026 | WNC Agricultural Center, Fletcher, NC

SAFF is the other major Southeast festival and it is a very different vibe from Carolina FiberFest. This one is held in October during peak leaf season in the North Carolina mountains near Asheville, and the setting alone is worth the trip. Admission is $5 per day or $10 for a three-day pass, cash only at the gate. Under 13 is free.

For needle felters: free demonstrations happen throughout the entire event, including felting. The vendor hall is huge and the selection of raw fleeces is some of the best you will find anywhere. Workshops start Thursday but Friday through Sunday is when the main event runs.

One logistical note: SAFF happens during peak fall foliage season in the Asheville area, which means hotels book up fast. Make your reservation as soon as you decide you're going.

Cost estimate: $5-10 admission. Budget $100-200 for vendors, more if you are shopping for fleeces.

New York State Sheep and Wool Festival (Rhinebeck)

October 17-18, 2026 | Dutchess County Fairgrounds, Rhinebeck, NY

Rhinebeck is the one you have probably already heard about even if you are new to fiber arts. It is the most talked-about fiber festival in the country and the energy there is genuinely unlike anything else. Over 300 vendors, workshops, sheep shows, a fleece sale, and a "Make it With Wool" fashion show. The community aspect is a huge part of it: people travel from all over, wear their fiber art, and treat the whole weekend like a reunion.

Admission is $12-15 depending on whether you buy in advance or at the gate. Kids under 11 are free with workshop enrollment. Workshops are a separate registration that opens in July, and popular ones sell out quickly.

Cost estimate: $12-15 admission. Set a vendor budget before you go and write it on your hand if necessary.

What to Pack for Any Fiber Festival

You will thank yourself later for bringing these things:

• A tote bag with structure. Roving compresses but tools and books don't. A bag that collapses on your arm when it's full is miserable. Bring something with handles that can hold its shape.

• Cash. Not all vendors take cards and the ones who do sometimes have spotty service at outdoor venues. Have at least $50 in cash minimum, ideally more.

• A bag or bin system for separating your purchases. Roving you're going to felt right away, roving you bought because it was beautiful and you'll figure it out later, and tools all need to travel separately or you'll spend an evening untangling fiber from a needle gauge set.

• A phone charger or battery pack. You're going to be taking pictures all day.

• Snacks. Festival food is expensive and the lines are long during peak hours.

• Comfortable shoes. This is not a fashion event. Your feet will be on concrete or grass for hours.

• Your current project if you want to sit and stab in the "sit and stitch" areas that most festivals have. These areas are genuinely relaxing and a great way to meet other people.

How to Not Blow Your Entire Budget on Wool in the First 20 Minutes

I say this as someone who has absolutely blown my entire budget on wool in the first 20 minutes.

1. Walk the whole vendor hall once before you buy anything. This is hard. Do it anyway. You will see things in the second half that make you glad you didn't spend everything on the first table.

2. Have a list. Even a loose one. "I need core wool, a new foam mat, and something in deep teal" is better than walking in with no direction. You can still buy impulsively, but at least the necessities are covered.

3. Set a dollar limit per category. Something like $40 for roving, $20 for tools, $20 for unexpected beautiful thing I did not know I needed. Adjust the numbers to your reality.

4. Eat before you go. Hunger + beautiful wool = financial decisions you'll regret.

5. If you find a vendor you love, get their card or write down their shop name. Most have online shops. You can always order more later. The wool will still exist on Monday.

A Note on Why Fiber Festivals Matter

These events are not just shopping opportunities. They are one of the few places where fiber arts communities, which often exist mostly online, get to be physically together. You will meet people who have been felting for thirty years and people who picked up a needle last month. 

You will see work that stops you in your tracks. You will have conversations about color and texture and the specific meditative quality of repetitive handwork with people who understand exactly what you mean. That matters. Especially right now when a lot of us are doing most of our community-building (or just doomscrolling) through screens.

BaconAstro was built on the idea that making things with your hands is not a hobby, it's a necessity and self care. Fiber festivals are proof that a lot of other people feel the same way. Go find your people and have a great time!

Want to stock up on needle felting supplies or grab a kit before you go? We've got you. And if you run into us at Carolina FiberFest this weekend, say hi.