Bauer, who took on the paid part-time position of administrative assistant 15 years ago, said she can attest to the festival's popularity increasing annually. Work will begin on the 2009 edition of the fair at the end of this month. Her family's home -- on their 100-acre hog farm named Rural Rhythm Farm -- is bulging with festival correspondence and catalogs. She and co-chairwoman Michelle Yates received 80 new applications this year from vendors, but had room to accept 10.
"We hate turning anyone away, but we have used up every square inch of the fairgrounds," Bauer said. "We are weighing the possibility of extending the festival to three days since its popularity demands it.
"We're just a group of crazy sheep people who keep pulling off something very successful year after year," she said.
"Mostly what makes this work is the dedication of our volunteers," echoed Gwen Handler, festival chairwoman for more than 20 years. "It is a must-attend weekend in the sheep and wool industry, but still a great family event that fits in well with the whole `green' movement and going back to basics."
Handler, a teacher at Sandy Spring Friends School, has been the chief force behind the festival since 1980, said Bauer, adding, "I don't think there's a week goes by all year that she isn't thinking about the next one."
While the event is in full swing tomorrow and Sunday, several key deadlines for 2009 are several months away -- vendor applications are due Oct. 1 and entries in the festival art contest must be submitted by Nov. 10.
The winner's artwork is reproduced on T-shirts, sweat shirts, totes, backpacks, mousepads, mugs, hats and compact discs of the festival's live music. Because there is no admission fee, selling these items supports next year's festival, Handler said.
Musical artists include such festival favorites as Slim Harrison and the Sunnyland Band, who return year after year, as do the majority of vendors. A family hoedown is held both afternoons, which gets kids involved in playing jugs, wooden washboards and metal washtubs.
Sheep will be petted, sheared, herded and, yes, eaten, at the event. Available for consumption will be lamb prepared many ways, such as burgers, sausage, kabobs, and Greek gyros.
Sheep definitely rule the day in such events as the Sheep to Shawl Contest at 8 a.m. Sunday, which is exactly what it sounds like. Eight teams are timed "from shearing until the shawl is off the loom with fringes finished." Another crowd favorite are the working-sheepdog demonstrations.
