The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival is the largest and longest-running showcase of

domestic sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sh ...

and

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The 2010 festival was the 37th consecutive. It is held at the Howard County Fairgrounds in

West Friendship, Maryland West Friendship is a semi-rural Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in western Howard County, Maryland, Howard County, Maryland, United States. West Friendship is located at the junction of Interstate 70 in Maryland, Interstate 70 and M ...

History

The festival was started in 1973. In 2003 it attracted over 70,000 people. The 2014 festival was the 40th consecutive. It is sponsored by the Maryland Sheep Breeders Association. The festival's purpose is to "educate the public about sheep and wool". It is organized and staffed by volunteers from both the sheep breeding and fiber communities. It is held annually during the first weekend in May at the Howard County Fairgrounds in

. It has vendors of

yarn, and judging of more than 30

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

breeds. Vendors of other fiber-producing livestock such as

goats The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of Caprinae, goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a membe ...

angora rabbit The Angora rabbit ( tr, Ankara tavşanı), which is one of the oldest types of domestic rabbit, is bred for the long fibers of its coat, known as ''Angora wool'', which are gathered by shearing, combing or plucking. Because rabbits do not possess ...

llama The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with othe ...

s, and

alpaca The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. It is similar to, and often confused with, the llama. However, alpacas are often noticeably smaller than llamas. The two animals are closely related and can successfu ...

also attend. The festival includes live music, a parade of breeds, a sheep to shawl contest, and

border collie The Border Collie is a Scottish breed of herding dog of medium size. Widely considered to be the most intelligent dog breed, they are descended from landrace sheepdogs once found all over the British Isles, but became standardised in the Angl ...

demonstrations. Food vendors sell various lamb dishes including lamb burgers,

gyros Gyros—in some regions, chiefly North America, anglicized as a gyro (; el, γύρος, yíros/gyros, turn, )—is meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, then sliced and served wrapped or stuffed in pita bread, along with ingredients such a ...

, and lamb sausage. There are also lamb cooking contests and lamb cooking demonstrations. A virtual festival was held in 2020 caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

References

External links

* *Map: {{Coord, 39, 18, 44, N, 76, 58, 09, W, format=dms, display=inline,title, type:event_region:US-MD Agricultural shows in the United States Festivals in Maryland Tourist attractions in Howard County, Maryland 1973 establishments in Maryland Animal festival or ritual Wool organizations

History

See also

References

External links