SEARSPORT, Maine — Eleven years ago this September, Astrig Tanguay did not know what to expect as she prepared for the first-ever Fiber College of Maine event, which was held at her Searsport Shores Oceanfront Campground.
Perhaps a few people would come to learn about weaving, quilting and other fiber arts and to spend some time on the bucolic edge of Penobscot Bay. But it didn’t take long to realize that the event, designed to be an economic development opportunity that would put a spotlight on her family’s love of making things, easily outdid her wildest hopes.
“It’s way beyond what we thought it was going to be,” Tanguay said. “Now we see a thousand people come through Fiber College. I think it’s totally unique. As far as I know, there’s no other event that’s as focused on education and a sense of place. There are lots of places to go and buy things, and lots of places to go and learn things, but nothing else that combines being outdoors with the whole experience.”
Nowadays, Tanguay and her crew are more prepared for the college, which will be held from Wednesday, Sept. 6, to Sunday, Sept. 10. But she is no less excited for the event, which draws teachers and fiber fans from all over.
“I think it’s just the coolest,” she said.
This year’s college will offer some new opportunities for those who are interested in the wide range of options, both fiber-related and “fiber-plus,” in Tanguay’s words. Participants can take classes in felting, knitting, silk paper making, fabric dying, spinning and rug hooking, among other fiber-focused skills. But they also can learn how to make snowshoes, use a plasma cutter, make chain mail and how to bend and pound wire into unique shapes to make jewelry.
Another change this year is that there will be free entry on Friday, a day that Tanguay is calling “Makers’ Friday.” On that day, anyone can set up a table for $10 and sell whatever they make. And on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, there will be so-called “rolling classes” that cost $20 an hour. Those classes are designed to be a more affordable, less structured way to attend the college and do not require pre-registration.
“You can sign up when you get here,” Tanguay said. “You can walk around, see what people are doing and say, ‘I want to do that.’”
The changes are designed to make the event more accessible to local folks.
“We want to celebrate the creativity that’s here,” she said. “We’re trying to bring in more local music and make it be more of a celebration. I hope we see people considering learning something new, and dabbling in that. And I hope there are enough advanced classes so that people will be coming for years and years.”
For more information about Fiber College of Maine, which will be held in September at Searsport Shores Oceanfront Campground, visit fibercollege.org.