Before Becky Gruhl helped coordinate the Estes Park Wool Market, she had never actually attended it. That all changed when she started working for the town of Estes Park in 2022, and the long-running festival quickly became one of the signature events she organized.
“To me, legacy is very important,” said Gruhl, who is coordinating the Wool Market for the third time. “Wool Market experts are known as superintendents; they have been doing the Wool Market for many years. I was able to have a lot of meetings with them and talk about what a wool market is. What does it mean to you? Why do you do it for so long?”
That sense of legacy will be on display when the Estes Park Wool Market celebrates its 35th year on Saturday, June 13 and 14, at the Estes Park Events Complex, 1125 Rooftop Way. The market is free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 13, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 14. Workshops will be held Thursday, June 11, and Friday, 12, at Estes Park High School, 1600 Manford Avenue.
The mission of the event is to bring together natural animal fiber producers, educators, retailers, and consumers for the benefit of the industry. That translates into a weekend of fiber arts vendors, sheep shearing, sheep dog herding, animal shows, indoor demonstrations, children’s activities, and close-up encounters with alpacas, llamas, sheep, goats, rabbits, and other fiber animals.
Gruhl reports that the event regularly draws between 9,000 and 10,000 people from all over the country. Although the town recognizes this as the market’s 35th year, Gruhl said her research suggests the gathering may have roots that reach back even further.
“I think it’s been going on since the 1970s, to be honest with you, in some capacity, even if it was just at somebody’s farm,” Gruhl said. “Now it’s turned into this nationally known event in Estes Park. Before we had the event center, they used to put up big tents, and sometimes it’d hail, and the tents would come down, and there’d be rain and mud.”
The Wool Market has grown into a highly competitive stop for vendors. This year’s vendor list includes fiber mills, yarn shops, breeders, handspinners, button sellers, woodworkers, felters, dyers, knitters, and other fiber artists from Colorado and beyond.
“The day that the application comes out, our applications get full, so that’s pretty exciting,” Gruhl said.
This year’s market includes about 70 vendors, with 10 percent to 15 percent new vendors who have not shown at the event before. Gruhl said some longtime vendors faced difficult decisions about travel costs.
“Towards the end, because gas prices went up, a lot of people were like, ‘Oh, I can’t or I don’t want to travel so far,’ and we had already had our vendors laid out, so the Fleece & Fiber Show is going to be much bigger this year,” Gruhl said. “Some of our vendors that have been coming for a long time, some of them had to choose between gas prices or traveling all the way here, so we also have a lot of new local artists and vendors.”
The animal shows remain one of the central attractions. Saturday’s schedule includes llama and alpaca performance classes, an Angora goat show, sheep shearing demonstrations, and cashmere goat fleece and fiber judging. On Sunday, the schedule includes llama and alpaca obstacle and public relations classes, a rabbit show, the Bluefaced Leicester National Sheep Show, and an opportunity for spectators to walk a llama or alpaca at noon.
“This year, we’re very excited to have six alpacas coming,” Gruhl said. “There used to be a large alpaca show here, and now, after COVID, we’re just trying to build that back. We’re also excited to have back the sheep herding dogs.”
While the animals bring many families through the gate, the Wool Market is also a working gathering for people deeply invested in fiber arts. Workshops will be held at Estes Park High School on Thursday, June 11, and Friday, June 12, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with lunch included. Half-day classes cost $75; full-day classes cost $115; and two-day classes cost $230, with additional fees based on the class. Indoor demonstrations will be held in Barn W throughout the weekend during the Wool Market.
Gruhl said the event takes nearly year-round planning. “There are so many moving parts that I honestly work on this all year round,” she said. “I give myself about a week off after the festival; I take a week off, and then I just start planning for the next year.”
One of the newer pieces of the market is the Community Spin & Weave Project, now in its third year. Visitors can help weave a shawl or scarf using donated fibers from different animals. The finished piece is then sold through a silent auction, with proceeds supporting young people who want to buy their first spinning wheel, loom, or other fiber arts equipment.
The project replaced the more competitive Sheep to Shawl event, in which teams sheared a sheep, washed the fiber, and worked under pressure to create a finished piece. Gruhl said the newer version better reflects what she loves about the market.
“It was more stressful versus collaborative,” Gruhl said. “I think collaboration, communication, and community in this event are just a super beautiful thing.”
That emphasis on the next generation runs throughout the festival. Gruhl said one superintendent oversees the children’s area and brings in volunteers from fiber guilds so children can learn to weave and try hands-on projects.
“It’s also so fun to see the kids at the petting zoo, being able to be up close to all these different animals and say, ‘Gosh, maybe I could do that,’ or ‘Maybe I could learn how to make a sweater from something that came off an Angora goat,’” Gruhl said. “It’s so important to get the younger generation involved.”
For Gruhl, that sense of possibility helps explain why the Wool Market has endured for 35 years.
“I think it’s because of the quality of people that are in the shows, in our vending, and the community that they’ve created,” Gruhl said. “Some of these people have been coming every single year, forever.”
The Wool Market will also connect with fiber activity beyond the Events Complex. A trolley will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, June 13, and 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, June 14, with stops at the Estes Park Visitor Center, the Art Center of Estes Park, Quality Inn, and the Estes Park Events Complex. Gruhl said the shuttle will help visitors reach the Art Center, which is hosting a “FACE of Fiber” show during the same weekend.
For those attending, Gruhl recommends planning for a full day on the grounds.
“Bring your water bottle so you can stay hydrated, because there’s a lot of ground to cover,” Gruhl said. “Bring a hat and bring layers, sometimes it can be cold in the morning and heat up during the day. And bring your curiosity, because there’s so many things to do.”
According to Gruhl, the Wool Market’s 35th anniversary is less about a single anniversary celebration and more about thanking the vendors, superintendents, volunteers, and fiber enthusiasts who have kept the tradition alive. A private Friday night gathering will honor those who have helped build the event.
“Every year, I just look forward to seeing everybody, and it’s like a big family reunion,” Gruhl said. “You’re all together. You’re helping each other out, loading in and loading out, and there’s great food from the concessions. The Wool Market is always an amazing event.”
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