STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Alex “Revel” Ruiz took the stage at The Argyros, a paint-splashed bucket of paints and paintbrushes on the floor.

And against the backdrop of the Trailing of the Sheep’s “Starry Starry Night” fundraiser logo, he began painting the upside-down outline of a lamb in white. He worked quickly, adding blue swirls reminiscent of Van Gogh’s “Starry Starry Night,” before shading them with white,

Then the fast-speed artist, a first-generation American from Cuba, added a golden brown touch to the cute little lamb, which was fully formed if hanging upside down, A touch of green underneath the lamb, a swirly yellow moon in the corner, and a couple pine trees behind and --Voila!—he was finished  the painting having taken just over eight minutes.

From there it was in the audience’s hands—a chance to bid on the painting to raise funds for the 28th annual Trailing of the Sheep Festival, which is just a month away.

A couple hundred ranchers and Trailing of the Sheep Festival fans crowded into The Argyros last week to show their support for the festival, which every year receives accolades as one of America’s most unusual festival, best fall festival…what have you…from prestigious publications.

They ate lamb—in this case, a Lamb Ragout made of Grand Teton Lamb and prepared by Salted Sprig. They bid on silent auction items, which featured a robust line of local artists’ creations, as well as tickets to a University of Notre Dame game and a grill-griddle.

And they ponied up for such live auction items as a choice of trips to Ireland, Tuscany and Costa Del Sol in Spain; a two-night stay in a sheep camp in Inkom with breakfast in bed; a night for four at the invitation-only Magic Castle in Los Angeles and an Argentinean dove hunt.

Karen Nelsen and Josi Barinaga even hawked $100 tickets to a Mystery Box that ended up containing a choice of vacations to Mexico won by Sharon Pyle.

Enthusiasm ran high. One woman recounted going to the sheep dog trials and watching a couple sheep dogs herd people into a circle while they were socializing. The dogs were pushing them and they didn’t realize they were being corralled, she said: “I’ve been hooked ever since.”

Jerry Seifert, the Trailing of the Sheep Festival board president, dedicated this year’s festival to John Peavey, who founded the festival with his wife Diane. Today 25,000 people come from throughout the country and even overseas to take in the five-day festival with its sheep tales, folk dances, fiber art, dancing and sheep parade down Main Street.

“It’s testament to how much people love sheep,” Seifert said, noting that the event has come to surpass even Wagon Days in attendance. “It’s become a bucket list festival—thanks to ewe for your support.”

Indeed, the Peavey family took what seemed like a strange idea to many at first and put their heart and soul into it, shining a spotlight on a 150-year-tradition of trailing sheep through the Wood River Valley to and from summer pastures in the mountains.

Started in 1996, the festival offers a break from people’s fast-paced lives to offer a glimpse of the past that is still part of the present. It preserves the stories and the culture while educating youth and adults  about sheep and the lives of sheep ranchers.

The festival has attracted sheep ranchers from places like Wales. It was a Make-a-Wish trip for one teenage girl.

“Sheep—they’re the best. Their meat is the best,” said Diane Peavey, who has crusaded to promote eating lamb in the Sun Valley area and across the nation as she’s served on national boards.

John Peavey often loved to tell how he had to complain to restaurant owners because lamb was rarely served in the Wood River Valley 20 years ago. Today it is a staple of many local restaurants, and it’s all over the Trailing of the Sheep Festival from cooking classes to the popular Lamb Bites.

“I came from the East Coast and there was a lot of lamb there,” Diane Peavey said. “I came here and there was not so much. But we changed that a bit!”