SEARSPORT — From September 3 to September 7 Fiber College will offer classes, reserved in advance or register in person (subject to availability), or the opportunity to simply purchase a day pass and spend the day soaking up the atmosphere.  Either way you'll be in the midst of beauty and like-minded people. 

Learn from demonstrations, visit the Gallery, stroll the Shopper's Boulevard, interact with fiber critters and wander through acres of organic gardens and miles of beach.  Enjoy a moment at the water's edge, soak up the atmosphere, the passion and wonderful people who weave the texture into Fiber College.

This is the largest fiber arts education gathering on the east coast. Classes on everything fiber: knitting, crocheting, weaving, spinning, felting, fiber preparation, rug hooking, quilting, lace making, dyeing, book making, wood working and more. Fiber College endeavors to further the education of creative pursuits for novice and highly trained artists alike.

This year Fiber College features:

The Quilts and Quilters of Gee’s Bend: “Do it your way!”

Four of Gee’s Bend renowned quilters teach their unique quilting style, participate in a forum discussion and to simply be part of our community. These four quilters are China Pettway,  Stella Mae Pettway, Revil Mosely and Lucy Mingo.  

Gee’s Bend Quilts will be on display in two exhibitions in Maine.

Penobscot Marine Museum, Searsport, August 2 - September 7, and Maine Fiberarts in Topsham July 4 - August 30.

All of the quilts will be on display at the Penobscot Marine Museum September 3 - 7.

On the evening of September 3 the First Congregational Church of Searsport will host a New England boiled dinner, followed by a discussion forum and gospel singing with the ladies from Alabama. The Forum will be moderated by Maine Center for Contemporary Art Director Suzette McAvoy. The price to attend dinner and forum is $30/person. If you’re interested only in the forum, the donation is $15. Tickets are available at the door or through the Fiber College website. click here for registration information Profits from the evening will support the Interfaith Fuel Fund and the Searsport Congregational/ Methodist Food Cupboard.

To continue the community-helping-community theme, during the weekend there will be a booth set up to teach people about Kiva.org, a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of micro-finance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.

Fiber College is always held on the award-winning grounds of Searsport Shores Ocean Campground in the Midcoast the weekend after Labor Day.  Accommodations are available at the campground and in nearby hotels and B & B's of Searsport and Belfast.  Come when you can, stay as long as you'd like. Everybody is welcome. 

Searsport Shores Ocean Campground www.campocean.com.

216 W. Main St, Searsport, (207) 548-6059.

Weaving a colorful community one thread at a time. www.FiberCollege.org.