2023 FLEECE SHOW AND SALE

Fibre farmers! As you are shearing this year, choose some fleeces to enter into our annual fleece competition, held this year on September 8 & 9 at Red River Exhibition Place in Winnipeg. Entries are welcome from across Canada.

Written feedback from the wool judge is very helpful in assessing your fleeces and learning how to increase their value.

Fleeces can be sold in the silent auction at the Festival. This is an excellent opportunity for direct marketing to handspinners and establishing contacts for future sales. In 2022, individual fleece sale prices ranged from $5 to $180.

Wool Show Information

Fleeces are judged as a handspinner/artisan show and are assessed for soundness, cleanliness including yield, as well as handle, staple length, crimp style and uniformity characteristic to the breed.

Wool Classes: (All classes include miscellaneous crossbred wools)

White Wool:

1 – Fine: ex. – Cormo, Polwarth, Rambouillet, Targhee

2 – Medium/Down ex. – Arcott, Cheviot, Corriedale, Dorset, Clun Forest, Suffolk

3 – Long: ex.  – BFL, Cotswold, Lincoln, Romney, 

Coloured Wool:   

4- – Fine: ex. Finn, Polwarth

5 – Medium/Down:  – ex. Black Welsh, Columbia, Corriedale, Hampshire

6 – Long: ex. Border Leicester, Coopworth, Gotland, Romney 

Specialty Wool:    

7 – Double coated and dual coloured fleeces such as Jacob, Icelandic, Romanov, Soay or Shetland for example.

Angora Fibre:  10 – Fleeces from angora goats

Fleeces may be re-classed, in the best interest of the fleece, using the judge’s discretion.

Ribbons will be awarded to First and Second place in each category.   

Please fill out an overall entry form; and include an ID form for each fleece entered. Thanks!

Submitting a Fleece

Fleeces submitted must be from this year’s clip, placed in a CLEAR PLASTIC BAG. The fleeces should be well skirted and not heavily contaminated with vegetable matter.

You can mail a fleece ahead of time or deliver the fleece to the Red River Exhibition Place venue. Please fill out and include an entry form with each fleece. (Forms available here soon.)

Mail In – August 15 – September 1, 2023   Fleeces can be mailed to Manitoba Fibre Festival, 441 Lariviere Street, Winnipeg MB, R2H 1A5

Drop Off – Thursday September 7, 12:00 – 4:00 pm;  Friday September 8 at  between 10:00 am and noon.   Red River Exhibition Place, 3977 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg

Entry Fee: $10.00 per fleece.  Payment can be made via cash or cheque. Please do not send cash in the mail.