20th Annual Trailing of the Sheep
BY YANNA LANTZ
It is alleged that John Hailey brought the first sheep to the Wood River Valley in the late 1860s. By 1918, the population of sheep skyrocketed to 2.65 million – nearly six times Idaho’s human population. Ketchum became the world’s major sheep center, second in size only to Sydney, Australia.
To commemorate this rich ranching heritage, Ketchum and the Wood River Valley celebrate the 20th annual Trailing of the Sheep Festival Oct. 5-9. The festival is heralded by MSN Travel as “one of the top ten fall festivals in the world” and by USA Today as one of the “ten best festivals in America.” The Trailing of the Sheep has also received the Governor’s Award for Cultural Heritage and is a sheep spectacular not to be missed.
“The festival is a great community event because it is an opportunity for us to educate and celebrate sheep ranching and sheep herding in Idaho and in the West,” Laura Musbach Drake, director of the Trailing of the Sheep Festival, said. “This is our 20th anniversary and it is an opportunity to celebrate our history and our past, while looking to the future of sheep ranching as an industry.”
Festival headquarters will open on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 9 a.m. in the nexStage Theatre, 120 S. Main St., Ketchum. Stop by for questions, registration assistance and festival swag. Headquarters are open daily throughout the festival.
Wednesday and Thursday offer “Cooking with Lamb” classes from some of the Valley’s most talented chefs. Additionally, fiber and crafting classes run throughout the festival.
Looking to learn more about the history of sheep ranching? On Friday from 2-4:30 p.m. head over to The Community Library, 415 Spruce Ave. N., in Ketchum, for a Q&A by Laird Noh and Mike Guerry. After the presentation, downtown Ketchum will host “For the Love of Lamb.” Featuring free lamb bites at 10 locations, this is one of the locals’ favorite festival events.
“My favorite part of the week is the lamb bites,” said Ketchum resident Peter Burke. “Each location prepares the lamb a different way and it’s so nice to see the entire community out and about comparing their favorites.”
The Sheep Folklife Fair is Saturday’s main event, held in Roberta McKercher Park in Hailey from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Meet 70 artisans with unique creations, see sheep shearing up close and personal, enjoy traditional music and dancing, and feast on lamb delicacies. The fair boasts numerous children’s activities.
“We offer many special children’s activities during the Trailing of the Sheep Festival, and families with young children are one of the fastest growing segments of our event attendees,” Drake said. “The families get a very intimate, up-close and personal connection to the sheep through our festival activities and the kids really love it.”
Saturday night head to the nexStage Theatre for the “20th Anniversary Celebration” from 7-9 p.m. and the “Sheepherder’s Ball” from 9:30-11:30 p.m. Austin, Texas-based Hot Club of Cowtown will play for attendees into the night. Tickets for these two special events are available at trailingofthesheep.org.
Sunday presents the festival’s star event: the Trailing of the Sheep Parade and Barbeque.
“The parade is one of the foundation blocks of the festival,” Drake said.
Main Street in Ketchum will flood with 1,500 sheep at noon, accompanied by herders, sheep ranchers, musicians, dancers and wagons.
Don’t miss out on the hoopla and heritage. For a full schedule of the festival events and times visit trailingofthesheep.org or call (208) 720-0585. Contact info@trailingofthesheep.org for questions.