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STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK Sheep have been trailing through the Wood River Valley for more than 150 years. And this year the Trailing of the Sheep Festival will pay homage to that tradition for the 29th time with wool and cooking classes, a Sheep Folklife Fair, sheep bites and the grand finale Big Sheep Parade through Ketchum. Far younger is the Trailing of the Sheep Festival “Starry Starry Night” fundraiser, which took the stage at The Argyros for just the third time this past week. It brought out guys and gals in their cowboy duds as they bellied up to the Wild West Saloon sponsored by Cindy Theobold to sip Cowboy Caviar, a cranberry juice and blue curacao infused vodka, as well as The Western Fling, a cherry brandy infused with pineapple juice, gin and grenadine.
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Rob Foulkes, Peggy Wiley, Wilson Quarie and Pamela Ann Ridgway got into the theme of the Wild West.
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And—sorry lambs—they sat down to a dinner of lamb— Spiced Dutch Oven Lamb Shoulder with Southwest Skillet Vegetables using lamb donated by the Siddoway family. Oh, and Portobello Mushrooms stuffed with baked lentils and roasted vegetables prepared by Silver Fox Catering. The festival sponsored by DL Evans Bank featured such silent auction items as a cowboy pillow in the shape of a boot, a Zapotec hat made from Zapotec rugs woven in Oaxaca, Mexico, a whimsical painting of the “Sheepherder’s Ball” of two sheep waltzing and a blackstone griddle. On the auction block was a painting of a cowboy somewhat reminiscent of Trailing Festival Founder John Peavey holding a sheep that speed painter Annika Wooten painted upside down in under six minutes as diners watched. The auction lots included a never-before-offered VIP experience getting to ride in the Trailing of the Sheep Parade that had never been offered before. And a vacation for six to either Spain, the Canary Islands, Finland and Sweden—take your pick--that was picked up by four different bidders.
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Jacob Peavey married Megan during the 25th Trailing of the Sheep Festival.
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Joan Davies, vice president of the Trailing of the Sheep Festival board, noted that last year’s Trailing of the Sheep Festival drew visitors from 26 states and numerous countries, according to those who took the time to pace a pin on a world map. “We wanted to share the story of Idaho, we wanted to share the story of lamb and we wanted to share the story of sheep. We have become a bucket list festival,” she said. The first annual John Peavey Scholarship, created following Peavey’s passing last year, was awarded to Luke Acquistapace of Carey. “I’m grateful for this opportunity,” said Acquistapace, who plans to study agricultural economics at the University of Idaho. “I hope to run my own cattle business someday and this is a good start.”
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Jack Sept and Anne Jeffery wore the outfits they were married in.
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Among those in attendance was Founders Diane and John Peavey’s grandson Jacob and his wife Megan, whom married on the 25th anniversary of the festival. This year Jacob, who works for the Flat Top Ranch, and Megan, who works for the Bureau of Land Management, will try wintering on the ranch for the first time. They’ll set up home in John Peavey’s mother Mary Brooks’ former ranch house. “It’ll be a nice walk to work,” said Jacob. “We will make sure the cows are where they’re supposed to be, that they’re on their good behavior.” Jack and Dana Topel moved to Bellevue a few years ago after retiring from their careers in environment in Sacramento. They found the Trailing of the Sheep Festival so charming and different from anything they’d seen before that they started volunteering for it.
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Marcia and Don Liebich have been big supporters of the Trailing of the Sheep Festival since its beginnings.
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“People who come to it are so happy to be here,” said Jack Topo. “It’s like being in a different world for a few days. My wife loves the sheep dog trials. And I love working at headquarters because I get to meet people from all over the world.” In contrast, Marcia and Don Liebich helped police the Trailing of the Sheep Parade in its early years, policing both the people and the sheep who might run amuck. “I love the parade and seeing the Basque dancers over the years,” said Marcia Liebich. While the Trailing of the Sheep Festival marks the passing of the sheep out of summer pastures to winter grounds in the desert, the festival never takes a pause for Executive Director Laura Musbach Drake, program director Sheila Kelley, Xole Uragan and the festival’s board of directors.
“As soon as the festival is over, we load up Sun Valley Transfer and the REMAX truck and return everything we’ve borrowed,” said Kelley. “Then, of course, we sit down and review what went well and what we want to do the next year.” The Trailing of the Sheep Festival has been named one of the Top 10 Fall Festivals in the World by msn.com travel and among the Top 7 Best Fall Festivals in the U.S. by National Geographic. The 29th Trailing of the Sheep Festival will be held Oct. 7-12. This year’s festival kicks off with a Farm to Table Dinner on Tuesday, Oct. 7 for early birds and locals. Cooking with Lamb classes start on Wednesday and Wool Fest classes start on Thursday.
The Championship Sheepdog Trials start on Friday. The Sheep Tales Gathering will be held Friday, along with For the Love of Lamb dine-around. The Sheep Folklife Fair will be held Saturday and the Big Sheep Parade on Sunday.
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