After a successful first year bringing fiber arts fanatics to Kingston last fall, organizers of A Woolen Affair will be back at the Hutton Brickyards this weekend with a program that has ballooned from every angle. Besides scaling up the number of vendors by 40 percent, the festival added another day to their roster, along with a talk show, 10 food vendors (compared to last year’s four), live music, tattoos and, of course, the wooly animals that are the source of it all.

Kingston Wire spoke to lead organizer Catherine Clark, who said that despite the major increase in activities and vendors at this year’s festival, “it doesn’t feel out of control.” She attributes this to more hired help and a production company that’s aided in logistics.

It’s a weekend of fiber arts festivals and A Woolen Affair strategically planned their festival for this Thursday and Friday, preceding the legendary Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, which takes place on Saturday and Sunday. Not to mention Indie Untangled, yet another fiber festival, taking place on Friday in Saugerties. The whole point of adding the half-day on Thursday, Clark said, was to give people the option to make their way up to the Saugerties festival as well.

Blame the foliage on the picturesque Hudson River or the indefatigable nature of fiber-enthusiasts for this festival’s draw, but it’s clear these consumers will travel far and wide to bear witness to and shell out dough for a wide assortment of products ranging from yarn, raw fiber, and a variety of bespoke creations.

Though Clark admits that she thinks “the river is a big draw,” it’s also “the friendships and community that keep people engaged.”

“There’s a kindred spirit, we all know that it’s calming us down, especially when times are hard, and we’re feeling more anxious these days than normal,” Clark said.

The river is not only the geographical landmark for the festival, but it has become symbolically intertwined with the essence of what Clark views as the connection between the fiber arts community. The theme for this year’s festival, Lean On Me, calls out to this sentiment.

“We are thinking about water and how it has so many properties similar to fiber,” Clark said. These comparisons include how fiber absorbs, holds and carries warmth. “Like water, it moves between states – raw and spun, loose and structured – teaching us about transformation, resilience and care.”

The vendors alone are travelling across the nation and world – from as far as Canada, Finland, Chile, France and the UK – to sell at A Woolen Affair. The vast majority of vendors, though, are local, with 105 tabling in total. There will also be four farms in attendance with ewes in tow.

At Hutton Hall, a lineup of speakers at the newly coined Woolen Affair Studios will be conducted through the Maker’s Studios, where fiber artists will discuss their craft every hour from 3-5 p.m. on Thursday and 12-3:20 p.m. on Friday, and a talk show, "Between Two Skeins," where host Jen Joyce will be sitting down with three guests at 4:30 p.m. on Friday to discuss all things fiber. Admission to these events is included with the price of a general admission ticket.

Taking place simultaneously will be eight different musical acts in a variety of genres playing on the lawn beside the two pavilions. On the esoteric side, Karamvir Bhatti will read your cards and, if you prefer some permanent art, there will be three tattoo artists with customized flash sheets made especially for the festival.

A Woolen Affair will be open Thursday, Oct. 15 from 2-6 p.m. and on Friday, Oct. 16 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday tickets are broken up for a half-day stay (2-6 p.m.) if you don’t want to commit to the full nine hours. Parking at Hutton Brickyards on Friday is already sold out, but additional parking at Kingston Point is only a 10-15 minute walk from the festival. Parking passes for Thursday are still available for the time being, and cost $6.50. People inquiring for accessible parking can do so by contacting hello@woolenaffair.com.

Tickets for full-day entry on Thursday or Friday come out to $45.83, and a half-day ticket for Friday is $27.08. Tickets can be purchased through the link here. Learn more about A Woolen Affair @awoolenaffair on Instagram.