Bellevue's Kelsey Creek Farm to host 'Wild-n-Wooly Sheep Shearing'

The annual Wild-n-Wooly Sheep Shearing will take place rain or shine on Saturday, April 24, at Kelsey Creek Park, 410 130th Pl. SE.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the community is invited to see sheep being shorn of their winter coats and enjoy a variety of fun farm events, including spinning demonstrations, children's crafts, tractor-pulled wagon rides, pony rides, dog herding demonstrations, heritage displays, food and more.

Veteran shearer, Doug Davies, will co-host the event on stage along with Kelsey Creek Farm staff member, Tamar White. Davies will explain the shearing process and share shearing stories from personal experience.

White will describe the processes of taking the wool from fleece to sweater, and will field questions from the audience.

Two other shearers will also be on hand to trim wool from the sheep: Amy Wolfe, a noted shearer and well-known judge in the 4-H and sheep community; and Al Schweider, a talented local shearer.

The shearing of the sheep is a traditional farm practice to gather wool for a variety of textiles. Each sheep produces from six to 10 pounds of wool each year.

The event is sponsored by Bellevue Parks & Community Services with support from ParentMap, N.W. Vintage Iron Tractor Club, NWRSA Hand Spinners & Fiber Crafts Demonstrators, Brian Ricards Sheep Dog Herding Trials, Kelsey Creek Critters 4-H Group, King County Master Recyclers, Whirlwind Services and Eastside Heritage Center.

Admission is free, but the costs vary for some activities ($1-$3). Food is also available for purchase. No ATM is available on-site.

Free parking and shuttle service is available to and from Wilburton Park & Ride, 720-114th Ave SE. For more information, call 425-452-7688 or 425-452-7688 or visit the city of Bellevue's website.

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