Museum to host fiber crafts fest

July 7, 2021 1:30 am
Contributed photo Cora Limbach of Lopez Island will teach popular string games at the History Museum’s wool and fiber fest for kids on Saturday. Here she demonstrates the Eiffel Tower pattern.
Contributed photo Cora Limbach of Lopez Island will teach popular string games at the History Museum’s wool and fiber fest for kids on Saturday. Here she demonstrates the Eiffel Tower pattern.

Update: A previous version of this article said the final summer event would be Sunday, Aug. 11, however, the date is actually Aug. 8.

The Fiber Fest on the museum grounds will still take place from 3-5 p.m. on July 10, as announced. The correct program information for Rena Priest’s visit is as follows: On Sunday, August 8 at 1 p.m., the Lopez Island Library, in partnership with Humanities Washington and the Washington State Arts Commission, is presenting a free, outdoor poetry reading by Rena Priest, the Washington State Poet Laureate. The program will take place at the Lopez Community Center’s outdoor pavilion. Following this event, on Monday, August 9 at 3 p.m., Rena Priest will teach a free poetry workshop at the Lopez Library. For more details about these public programs please contact Malia Sanford at malia@lopezlibrary.org.

Submitted by the Lopez Island History Museum.

With the popular island lamb and wool festival canceled last year because of COVID, the Lopez History Museum is stepping in to offer children their own fiber crafts festival from 3 to 5 p.m., Saturday, July 10, outdoors on the museum grounds. The afternoon is meant to celebrate the long history of traditional fiber arts on the island and to give children the opportunity to learn how textiles are made from wool.

Hands-on activities will include spinning, weaving, felting and finger knitting. Lopez youth will demonstrate and teach beloved string games such as Jacob’s Ladder and Cat’s Cradle. Kids attending the festival will get to spin their own jump rope to take home.

Children ages 4-12 are invited to attend but must be accompanied by an adult. Older kids are welcome to help with the activities.

This is the second children’s event sponsored by the history museum this summer. The first, an old-fashioned game day, was a hit with kids and adults alike. The highlight was the live chicken race which the museum hopes to make an annual tradition.

The date of the final summer event has been moved to Sunday, Aug. 8 to coincide with a visit by Washington State Poet Laureate Rena Priest, a member of the Lummi tribe. Priest will be the special guest speaker at the Family Resource Center’s fundraising dinner the night before. Plans envision a family-friendly gathering on Sunday with music and kids’ activities at the Community Center pavilion.

All events are free and include free admission to the museum. For information, contact Lynn Thompson at lthompsontimes@gmail.com.

The Lopez Island Historical Museum wishes to correct information regarding two August events with Rena Priest, the Washington State Poet Laureate, in our recent article, “Museum to Host Fiber Crafts Fest.”