#PickoftheWeek | Queens Farm Hosts Sheep Shearing Festival on May 14
Head to Queens County Farm Museum for a breath of fresh air…and fresh hair.
New York City’s only Sheep Shearing Festival will take place there on Saturday, May 14, from 11 am to 4 pm.
Cormo, Cotswold, Jacob, and Romney sheep make their homes at Queens Farm, and they need haircuts before the hot weather hits. So visitors will ooh and ahh as the mammals lose their manes and renowned shearer Donald Kading discusses his craft at different intervals throughout the day. A related program will explain wool and the fiber-production process with spinning, crochet and weaving demonstrations.
It’s not all yarn though, Mama Juke will play harmonica-heavy, New Orleans-influenced blues, soul, funk, and folk music. Plus, the Con Edison Ecology Booth will give away kits and teach about the Adopt-A-Worm composting program.
Food trucks such as East Coast Street Tacos and Tania’s Kitchen NYC will sell products, while Lifeway Foods will offer free samples of tangy, probiotic kefir smoothies. Hayrides, scavenger hunts, 18th century cooking, tours of the grounds and the historic Adriance Farmhouse, and suds crafted by Rockaway Brewing Company round out the fun.
Visitors are required to present online tickets to enter the grounds. General admission is $12, but $8 for youngsters ages 3–11. Those under the age of three can attend for free.
The term “shearing” refers to cutting and shaving wool from a hirsute farm animal. Experienced shearers can remove a full fleece in about two minutes. Ivan Scott set the world record for fastest machine-aided shear at 37.9 seconds in Ireland in 2016.
Queens County Farm Museum is spread out over more than 47 acres near the borough’s eastern border with Long Island. In operation since 1697, it’s the Big Apple’s only working, undisturbed farm with livestock, heavy machinery, planting fields, and a vineyard.
The entrance is 73-50 Little Neck Pkwy. in Glen Oaks, where there’s a free parking lot.
Images: Queens County Farm Museum
