The homespun arts of weaving and spinning fibers will be combined with the ancient tradition of oral storytelling at a family-friendly event this weekend at Vashon Farmers Market.

The event — billed as the First Annual High Fiber and Fine Yarns Festival — will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 15, at the Village Green.

Lindsay Hart, president of Vashon Island Growers Association (VIGA), said the festival was a perfect fit for the Farmers Market.

“I think it will be fun, more than anything, and we’re always looking for things that are fun,” Hart said. “But this is also about the farming community and our heritage.”

The fiber portion of the festival will demonstrate every stage of a fiber’s transition from animal to cloth.

T Martino, Wolftown’s founder, will shear a sheep using traditional blades and then show how wool is prepped for spinning.

Members of Spinners Rock, Vashon’s chapter of the Northwest Regional Spinners’ Association, will also be on hand to demonstrate a variety of spinning wheels using fibers ranging from angora bunny to alpaca.

The event will also offer demonstrations on knitting, loom weaving, fiber dyeing, carding and the drop spindle technique.

Three of the Island’s leading storytellers will also weave stories at the festival.

Allison Cox, author of The Healing Heart books, storyteller and magician Tom Pruiksma, and award-winning storyteller and poet Merna Ann Hecht will perform from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Their tall tales will be interspersed with music sets by Island songsmith Mark Wells.

Each of the storytellers’ yarns will involve fabric or farming.

Along with the fiber arts demonstrations, stories and music, Saturday’s farmers market will also include its usual roster of vendors offering fresh produce, plant starts, handmade objects and more.

For additional details on the Farmers Market and Vashon Island Growers’ Association, visit www.vigavashon.org.

Contact Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber Arts Editor Elizabeth Shepherd at arts@vashonbeachcomber.com or 206-463-9195.

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