About The Great Lakes Fiber Show
Our Mission
The Great Lakes Fiber Show seeks to promote fiber arts and related animal husbandry: educating and encouraging people of all ages to pursue traditional and innovative fiber crafts, and improving the care and management of animals related to fiber production.
The Key Facts
- For more than a quarter-century, the Great Lakes Fiber Show has been held every year on the Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.
- The show runs Saturday from 10am–5pm and Sunday from 10am–4pm.
- Admission is free and you’ll find food vendors on the grounds, including delicious lamb sandwiches.
- You’ll find the show at the Wayne County Fairgrounds — a well-kept facility with superior buildings for vendors. All streets on the grounds are blacktopped.
- Nearly 100 vendor booths feature raw fiber to finished items; spinning, weaving, and knitting/crocheting supplies; fiber-related craft goods; and more.
- Enjoy the wool fleece show and sale, a skein competition and a garment competition — or one of the free demonstrations and kids activities.
- Register for a workshop to take a deep dive into a craft or technique.
- The Great Lakes Fiber Show depends on a dedicated steering committee and these great volunteers —
- Wool Show and Sale — Algonquin Spinners & Weaving Guild
- Workshops — Medina Spinning & Weaving Guild
- Skein Competition — Algonquin Spinners & Weaving Guild
- Garment Competition — Western Reserve Spinners & Weavers Guild
- Just for Fun kids activities — Mindy Belmont Knitting Guild
- Camping is available at the fairgrounds
A Short History
For many years the Great Lakes Fiber Show was the product of the untiring work of Linda Reichert, who ran the successful show with help from the Medina Spinning & Weaving Guild and the Algonquin Mill Spinners & Weavers Guild. After a number of years, Linda decided to step back from the leadership role and Connie King stepped up to continue the show.
Connie formed a committee of volunteers mostly from the Medina Spinning & Weaving Guild and the Algonquin Mill Spinners & Weavers Guild, using Connie the committee format for the 2020 show that continued the show’s success. The 2021 show was canceled due to restrictions imposed by the Covid pandemic. In the beginning of 2022, Connie became seriously ill and had to depend on the committee she had wisely put in place — and the committee put on another wonderful show. Connie passed away shortly after the show.
The Algonquin Mill Spinners & Weavers and the Medina Spinning & Weaving Guilds formed a temporary coalition to continue the show into 2023. Then during the 2022-2023 year, the Great Lakes Fiber Show completed the process to become a 501c3 nonprofit corporation, electing its first slate of officers on June 27, 2022.
Our mission is to enrich lives by advancing skills in the fiber arts by providing educational activities to members of the public as well as the fiber arts community. In addition, we seek to provide a marketplace for the fiber arts community and to showcase working dogs through lectures and canine activities.
Officers & Directors
President
Dave Lewis
president@greatlakesfibershow.org
2022-2024
Vice President
Nancy Page
vicepresident@greatlakesfibershow.org
2022-2023
Secretary
Gloria Matthews
secretary@greatlakesfibershow.org
2022-2024
Treasurer
Diane Schrader
treasurer@greatlakesfibershow.org
2022-2025
Directors At-Large
team@greatlakesfibershow.org
Nancy Ganyard
2022-2023
Mindy Albright
2022-2025