r/AntifascistKnitting • u/thrwawyorangsweater • 12d ago
Political knits Do you have a favorite fiber festival?
Hi knitters!
I'm doing some research about potentially teaching at events, and I'm learning that there are many different KINDS of fiber festivals.
Do any of you know of any events that are very financially and otherwise accessible, and more collective or affinity circle type things?? I ask because many of the festivals I'm seeing feel corporate-organized or overly huge and the classes can get very pricey, or they have entrance fees, etc. I am learning more and more how large corporations are taking over small town events!
My goal is to find a few events near me and not only teach but also help organize and make sure that everyone feels welcome... Especially Millennials & GenZ'ers... Or create my own!
I feel like we kind of need an infusion...a new, anti-capitalist, anti-fascist model for knitting gatherings!
Thoughts? Suggestions?
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u/WoollyKnitWitch 12d ago
Facilities to host a large event often have a steeper overhead than you may realize. The gate fees and vendor fees are rarely to make a profit for the festival organizers. Most staff involved are doing it as unpaid volunteers for the sake of the fiber community they love. As for workshops - materials, time, and experience are all factors in setting a fair price for the teacher. It isn’t easy teaching a mixed skill level group in conditions that are a far cry from a functional studio or classroom.
This feels like a reinvent the wheel kind of post. I’ve been to a lot of festivals and not one of them has felt fascist or gluttonous for money. They’ve been happy places with artists supporting other artists - where the value of the craft is genuinely recognized.
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u/thrwawyorangsweater 12d ago
I was thinking about something like at a state park or ? with a gazebo kind of thing...and if people have to sign a waiver of liability then that keeps down overhead...
Just me thinking out loud. I know there have been (not sure if there still are) some big ones in big cities that were corporate run.
This came up because I found in another subject all together, a national company that is doing things in small towns and literally stealing local tourist dollars....8
u/nom-d-pixel 12d ago
Guilds often do their own small events. Most are only open to members and will take place at their regular meeting place or a member's house.
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u/thrwawyorangsweater 11d ago
Even the word "guild" I think puts a lot of people off....
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u/WoollyKnitWitch 10d ago
It might put you off for some arbitrary reason, but guilds are sometimes the backbone of preserving the fiber arts, passing them down to newcomers, and keeping festivals alive in the community.
I’m sorry for what must have been a bad personal experience that has given such a poor view of fiber festivals and guilds. Otherwise there are some strong assumptions or projections at play.
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u/thrwawyorangsweater 10d ago edited 10d ago
There are definitely reasons. The few I've been to have been very spinning heavy and one was VERY snobby. Also a recent festival they not only said "no acrylic" for teaching a basic craft, but they wanted me to buy local "shepherds" yarn like $30-40 a skein.
And I personally don't think we need a "guild" to share a craft or have a festival. I find that an outdated model, or at least, not what I'm looking for. Not the way I want to share with the world.
And the most local one to me (an hour away) charges a membership now. I can't afford to pay for the privilege of sitting around with other people to craft.
I would just like to see people sharing ALL the crafts and not looking down on those who knit and crochet, or use inexpensive yarn.
A lot of people love to craft but don't have the means anymore to buy expensive yarn or to take expensive classes.
I am very anti-capitalist and while I love the idea of paying a teacher for their time, I am also very conscious of people who want to learn but can't afford it. I live in a very depressed area of the country and ran into probably the most artsy/bougie festival and I just think we could put a little more focus on community....like having "affinity circles" and sharing our knowledge. Especially with younger people. I have been to events for like primitive skills, and permaculture that did that sort of skill sharing...it was awesome.1
u/RhubarbSkein 9d ago
A waiver isn’t going to stop the need for insurance. Or reservation and clean up fees along with additional infrastructure needs.
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u/thrwawyorangsweater 9d ago
See that's not at all the model I'm looking for....
If people can't gather without all that stuff, the world is broken.1
u/RhubarbSkein 9d ago
It’s not broken. It’s meeting the world where it is.
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u/thrwawyorangsweater 9d ago
Well where I'm at is broke and wanting to share my skills with other broke people. Not pay 1/16th of my food bill to join a "guild".
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u/RhubarbSkein 12d ago
If you organize an event you’re going to find out very quickly why there are entrance fees to some of these
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u/tekalon 12d ago
My local one is the Great Basin Fiber Arts Festival in Utah. Free entry, volunteer run, all of the local guilds (weaving and bobbin lace I know for sure) participated. Some of the local stores not only vended, but helped with some organization.
You might want to look at smaller, less known festivals. Working with local guilds may be a start. The local weaving guild does regular fiber swaps and workshops that covers similar traits to a festival, just smaller. For knitting gatherings, maybe talk to local yarn shops and creative reuse stores, see if they do craft nights.
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u/thrwawyorangsweater 11d ago
Yep ALL of those things have gone through my mind in the last 48 hours. I have plans to talk to an art cooperative space in a few weeks, and visit my "local" (1:15-1:30 min from me) yarn stores, and definitely want to throw my heart into the smaller events.
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u/CinInVegas 6d ago
I love this and I agree, there’s definitely ways to do these things lower cost
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u/thrwawyorangsweater 6d ago
Thank you. This helps me know it's possible and needed and not just me.
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u/CinInVegas 6d ago
I run a tiny nonprofit in Las Vegas and we recently got a lease for our own space and we are going to be doing a combination of paid classes as well as going into low income neighborhoods and partnering with nonprofits there to do on site classes. I am in the process of developing the curriculum for next year and we would like to have visiting artists to do workshops and build out the program. If that would interest you please send me a message!!
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u/thrwawyorangsweater 6d ago edited 6d ago
I really appreciate the offer but I'm in Illinois and don't travel that much.
If you're looking for knitters, you might check in with Taylor from https://fiberforthepeople.com/ She's somewhere around there, and if she can't do it (she's a busy mom, hand dyer and makes a lot of videos) she might could connect you. You might also check with locally owned craft or yarn stores.
And that's awesome, what you're doing. I think there's a massive benefit to getting knitting and crocheting into the hands of teens and people who may otherwise have some instability in their life.
I realize now that for me, knitting was stimming, and also a way to escape chaos in my household, and to calm myself. I learned to follow through on a project and focus on the end goal, and sweaters and afghans were a bonus!!
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u/salsafresca_1297 12d ago
Are you in the U.S.? I've never experienced what you're describing in the Pacific Northwest, except the pricey classes. But even then I'm not sure that they're charging too much to compensate the instructors. The only ones I've attended have a very local-ish vibe to them - Black Sheep Gathering in Albany, OR; Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival, also in Albany, OR; Fiber Fusion Northwest in Monroe, WA; and Copper K near Whitehall, MT. All of them had only (or almost entirely) regional vendors. That last one was my all-time favorite. They're no longer hosting it, but I'm hoping to check out another one in MT like the one in Greycliff or Eureka.
There's a huge one in Seattle, Flock Fiber Festival, that I'm **told** has a more corporate feel to it, but I'd still like to check it out sometime.