Madison County celebrates the Wool and Wine Festival

MADISON COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) - Wine lovers and their pets came to Madison County for the Wool and Wine Festival.

The festival had crafts, live music, and a sheep dog trial with over 100 participants from all across the country.

“It is a family event. We do have our bounce houses and our big blue Mega Bloks setup, and we have arts and crafts for the kids. We also have candle making and wine bottle painting, so it’s a great family event.” said festival organizer Kendall Fears.

Fears says the festival is for people of all ages to enjoy, and that the events goal is to bring attention to wine sellers in the Madison community.

“It’s Madison County, we like to support and grow our own. It’s important for us and for them to be out here as so we can support them and then they, in turn, support us and do what’s best for kids here in Madison County,” Fears said.

For the wool side of the Wool and Wine Festival, the sheep dog trials saw dogs go through a timed trial course where they herded sheep through different marked checkpoints.

After they were done, the judges scored their runs.

Sally Moore is one of the hosts of the trials, and she says support for it has grown in recent years.

“It’s been awesome. I mean what better way to spend a weekend then with all of your friends, working your best dogs on really good sheep,” Moore said.

Over 100 border collies came to put their skills to the test.

“We have two people from Canada, and 17 other states represented here this weekend. So you have people traveling all the way from Florida, to Connecticut, from Kentucky, and in between, it’s amazing,” Moore said.

The Wool and Wine Festival will come back next year, and they say there will be more opportunities to enjoy some family fun this summer.

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