Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Fibre Mania


Fibre Mania
6th Annual
 Shearing Open House Charity Event
Spinning Wheel Alpaca Farm
Saturday May 26th, 10-5pm

The 6th annual Open House, lots of buzz, lots of exciting things to see and do....


Thor from Nova's Ark
Observe how the fibre is harvested each spring, tour the vendors area, visit the on farm Alpaca Store for your 1 stop alpaca needs. There will be carding, spinning and weaving demonstrations, lots of animals to see, and some special guests from Nova's Ark. Have some tasty Certified Organic Burgers from Gallery on the Farm and some yummy treats from Nova's Ark supporting their Special Needs Program.  To learn more about Nova's Ark, click HERE.  The country setting will take your breath away.

Fibre Mania began in 2007, when Nancy and Garth Hutchinson of Spinning Wheel Alpacas saw the need to educate the public about alpaca farming and the beautiful luxurious fibre that is harvested each spring.

Shearing Crew 2012
With a charity focus, the very first Open House at Spinning Wheel Alpaca Farm was created to help others. Located at 1857 Regional Road #3 Enniskillen (NE of Oshawa), Ontario the farm was a perfect  setting for those who want to escape the city life.  Every year a different charity was  chosen, a way to give back or perhaps to pay it forward.

Ride for Sight is a group of motor cyclists who rumble past the farm and raise money  to fight blindness.  The first Open House raised a little over $500.00 for the cause.  The Alpacas, Nancy and Garth topped up the donation as well. It was pretty exciting for the very first event.

In 2008 Renewed Strength joined the event as well as founder Dee Miller and Bev May.  These ladies were present to collect the donations and were thrilled with their results .  The generosity raised  over $1000.00 for this not for profit organization.  Renewed Strength offers exercise programs and DVD’s for cancer survivors recovering from chemo or radiation treatments.  This charity seemed fitting as Nancy is a cancer survivor, as well as her father.  After seeing the ill effects of chemo and radiation had on her father, Renewed Strength was the perfect charity.  

In 2009 Durham Humane Society suffered the loss of over 100 animals due to a devastating fire.  Ruby Richards president of Durham Humane Society was present all day collecting nearly $1,500.00 for the furry critters  in 2009.

Sally Barrie and volunteer from Community Care Durham
In 2010, Community Care Durham became the charity of choice. Community Care Durham offers many services to our aging population and those with special needs.  They have such and important roll in our community…helping others.  They were thrilled with the support of the community.

A another creation from Christina Handley
In 2010 Nancy was again diagnosed with Cancer. During shearing season of 2010 and the open house, Nancy was busy with all the farming events, as well as preoccupied by all the appointments she needed to attend for the diagnoses. On June 16th, 2010, that is all she heard "you have cancer".  Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, a form of Breast Cancer. What a year that was for the Hutchinsons. Nancy was only 42 yrs of age,  how could this be happening. Thank goodness for her medical team in the Durham Region. Durham has some incredible medical professionals that help the community.  A dedicated set of doctors, nurses and staff, where all there to help the Hutchinson's through this stressful time. Hearth Place was comforting retreat to feel love, understanding and to deal with an illness.  During the treatment, and dealing with the mental aspects of the disease, Hearth Place was there.   Hearth Place Cancer Support Centre was established in 1997. Located in Oshawa, the facility supports those who are undergoing cancer illness.  Whether you are the one experiencing this dreadful illness,  or have a special someone in your life who is, Hearth Place provides comfort, education and a new way to care for themselves and each other.  The drop in, homelike setting provides peace, friendship and understanding of those experiencing cancer. And, it is all free.


The largest Open House was in 2011.  A huge success and of course the charity of choice was Hearth Place. The even raised over $2,000.00 for Hearth Place.


Nancy with some of  her beloved Boob Buddies
The Hutchinson's are familiar with different charities in their area.  These charities help  communities grow stronger and educate the public. With the growing amount of people being touched by cancer, Hearth Place is a vital spot to allow the healing to begin. The Hutchinson's have decided that their goal each year is to raise funds for Hearth Place in order to help others.


Members from the Guild
2012 has the hope for the biggest event ever on the farm. With the help of dedicated volunteers, Hearth Place Staff and family and friends, the Hutchinson's are hoping to reach a goal of $6,000.00 for the cause.   Nancy will be shearing her own hair once this goal is met. All in the love of her fellow Boob Buddies who had to deal with treatment that left them feeling ill and loosing their hair. Nancy is so grateful to have met these ladies...a very strong bond, a very good set of friends. All is the love of charity.  Help make this the biggest event at Spinning Wheel Alpaca Farm. 


CTV's Tom Brown with Spinning Wheel's
Tom Brown
Margaret Knitting 
Purchase tickets for the chance to win 100% handmade alpaca shawl, From the Alpaca CTV's Tom Brown, hand spun by members of the Great Pine Ridge Spinners and Weaver's Guild, Woven by Margaret Muarry.  Absolutely beautiful. Contact Hearth Place for further information.




For Vendor information, contact Nancy by clicking here.

To volunteer for this event contact Heather Clicking Here

To Learn more about Hearth Place click here!

To directly donate to Hearth Place click here

We love the community we live in
We love being Canadian
Thank you everyone…thank you for paying it forward.

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