Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Thousands flock to fuzzy festival

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Thousands of spectators turned out over the weekend for the 13th annual Trailing of Sheep Festival in Hailey and Ketchum, one of the Wood River Valley’s hallmark events. The festival celebrates the valley’s heritage as a major sheep-ranching center. During the festival’s main event, the parade through downtown Ketchum, sheep belonging to Faulkner Land & Livestock, a Gooding-based company managed by third-generation rancherJohn Faulkner, strut their stuff on Main Street, right. Most of Faulkner’s sheep graze in the Smoky Mountains, north and east of the Wood River Valley. At the Sheep Folklife Fair Saturday in Hailey, expert shearer John Balderson shows off the skills that make him one of the best in the business. Balderson, who does contract work throughout the Northwest, shears some 30,000 woollies every year. The Boise Highlanders, one of the oldest pipe bands in the Northwest, bottom left, combine bagpipes and drums in tunes that seem perfectly suited to the unique parade. The Oinkari Basque Dancers, below, perform some of the high kicks that made them a crowd favorite during the parade in Ketchum. Photo by Willy Cook