Thank you for supporting festival

To the editor:

The Jay County Visitor & Tourism Bureau’s board of directors and staff would like to extend their gratitude of appreciation to all those who participated in this year’s 15th Annual Jay County Fiber Arts Festival.

Capitalizing on 15 years of growth, this year’s annual festival resulted in another thriving event. Over 1,000 visitors from all over the Midwest, including Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and throughout Indiana enjoyed the festival at Jay Community Center. 

We had many volunteers in charge of various tasks behind the scenes that are too numerous to mention. Their hard work was instrumental in the success of the festival.

Kate Larson, the featured fiber arts festival lecturer and teacher did a tremendous job at providing a very interesting lecture, “Where Sheep Watch the Sea – A Shetland Adventure!” Larson captivated the audience at the heavily attended lecture, as she passionately discussed her travels abroad with encountering large variations of fiber.

Jim Bob McEwen, Marvin Gray and Will Herr’s efforts with the sheep shearing demonstrations were enjoyed by all, especially among the youth who attended the festival. Thank you for providing a memorable experience for our visitors.

This year, the festival debuted a new children’s entertainer, Mother Goose. Sheron McClung as Mother Goose did a fabulous job at portraying her character with rhymes and storytelling. McClung’s involvement and role in the festival was tremendous.

A big thank you to these fiber art teachers and demonstrators: — Stitch & Chatter Quilt Club, Jay Community Knitters, Arts Place Felting Group, Jay Homeschoolers, Jay Wood Carvers and Reduce, Reuse & Recycle. 

Carla Loy did a terrific job at managing the logistics on the refreshment items that were sold at the festival. A big thank you to the National Center for Great Lakes Native American Culture representatives, who assisted Loy with various kitchen tasks.

The Jay County Visitor & Tourism Bureau’s board of directors and staff thanks all the amazing festival volunteers, specifically, but not limited to Kenya Habegger, Marie McKinley and family, Jay County FFA, Donnie James with Jay County Sheriff’s Office and many, many dedicated volunteers. Your hospitality to visitors and efforts at promoting the festival were remarkable.

Also, thank you to WPGW Radio for its involvement and expertise at advertising the festival.

Many thanks to Kyle Cook and his staff at Jay Community Center for allowing us to host this event at their exceptional facility. 

The high level of success of this event would not be possible without the gracious support of featured festival sponsors: Richards Restaurant, At Home Indiana Magazine and Susan Markle of the Trading Post. Thank you for your outstanding support.

Next year’s Jay County Fiber Arts Festival is set to occur on March 8 and 9.

If you are interested at volunteering or learning more about the festival, please contact the Jay County Visitor & Tourism Bureau at (260) 726-3366 or visit visitjaycounty.com/fiberfest.

Sincerely, 

Gyneth Augsburger

Executive director

Jay County Visitor & Tourism Bureau