Photo: Suzanne Sausville / WBZ News Radio
WALTHAM (WBZNewsRadio) — For 36 years an annual spring festival in New England features among other things music, crafts, historic actors, and demonstrations including herding dogs and traditional sheepshearing.
The Sheepshearing Festival at Gore Place in Waltham was held over the weekend taking place on the grounds of a historic 50-acre estate just 9 miles outside Boston.
The grounds include a Federal-style Mansion that was built in 1806 and designed with input from Rebecca Gore, the daughter of a wealthy Boston family and married to Christopher Gore in 1785. He was governor of Massachusetts from 1809-1810 and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1813. Her interests were in horticulture and architecture. She played a central role in the design of the Gores' Mansion, taking inspiration from the grand country houses of Europe. To build their dream home, the Gores spent $24,000.
Also on the property are an authentic 1793 Carriage House, a working farm, and grounds that include manicured lawns, walking paths, and leafy shade trees.
The Sheepshearing Festival is a highlight of the season as guests watch the process of trained sheepshearers carefully but quickly cut away the thick layers of woolen fleece the sheep have accumulated throughout the year. The wool needs to be taken off usually once a year to keep sheep from overheating and to improve their quality of life.
Kevin Ford is one of the festival’s sheepshearers. He has 45 years of experience receiving his training in Ireland. He said he prefers shearing sheep the old-fashion way using scissors rather than an electric razor. “I’m a blade sheepshearer which means I shear by hand,” he said. “It’s more athletic, it’s more enjoyable, it’s more challenging.”
As the crowd watched the demonstration, Michael with his young daughter Mika said he was amazed to watch the sheepshearer in action. “I am impressed by how hard this looks for him,” he said. “That’s hard work bending over and using those scissors all day. He’s definitely putting in a good day’s work here.”
While the Sheepshearing Festival runs just one day a year, the Gore Place grounds are open for free every day year-round from dawn to dusk. Some activities and events have paid admissions.
WBZ's Suzanne Sausville (@SuzanneSausville) reports.