BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Sunvalley Events//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:Sunvalley Events X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Boise BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Boise BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:MDT DTSTART:19700308T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=SU END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:MST DTSTART:19701101T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=SU END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:136483@sunvalley DTSTAMP:20261010T092124Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261007 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261012 SUMMARY:30th Annual Trailing of the Sheep Festival DESCRIPTION:Sheep have been trailing through the Wood River Valley of Idaho for well over a century-and-a-half and are an integral part of Idaho’s w estern heritage. It is only fitting that they take center stage at the 30th annual celebration of the iconic Trailing of the Sheep Festival\, October 7-11\, 2026\, which celebrates the sheep\, herders\, history\, and food of this unique tradition\, and is recognized as one of the “Top Ten Fall Fes tivals in the World” by msn.com.\\n\\nEach fall\, the Trailing of the She ep Festival honors the 150+ year annual tradition of moving sheep (‘trail ing’) from high mountain summer pastures down through the Valley to tradi tional winter grazing and lambing areas in the south. This annual migration is living history and the focus of a unique and authentic Festival that ce lebrates the people\, arts\, cultures\, and traditions of Idaho’s sheep r anching families\, highlighting the principal contributors – the Basques\ , Scottish\, and Peruvians.\\n\\nThe five-day Festival includes nonstop act ivities in multiple venues - history\, folk arts\, an authentic Sheep Folkl ife Fair\, lamb culinary offerings\, Wool Fest classes\, music\, storytelli ng\, National Qualifying Sheepdog Trials\, and the always entertaining Big Sheep Parade with over 1\,200 sheep hoofing it down Main Street in Ketchum. \\nFestival Highlights include: \\nBig Sheep Parade - Sunday\, October 11 @ Noon.\\nA band of 1\,200 sheep trailing down Main Street in Ketchum\, Idah o. The parade includes historic sheep wagons and participants from the Folk life Fair\, each identified by sign-bearing local dancers. Blessing the flo ck this year is The Very Reverend M. Jonah Kendall\, Rector of St. Thomas E piscopal Church in Ketchum.\\nNational Qualifying Sheepdog Trials - Oct 9 & 10\, 9am - 5pm and Oct 11 9am - 2pm\\nThe National Point Qualifying Sheepd og Trials during the Trailing of the Sheep Festival is a must-see for all a nimal enthusiasts who have wondered who is really in charge of the sheep an d how the dogs are trained to respond to their handlers. These amazingly ta lented animals will bring words of astonishment from viewers along with gre at photo\\nopportunities.\\nSheep Folklife Fair - Saturday\, October 10 @ 1 0am - 4pm\\nThe popular and authentic Sheep Folklife Fair provides a full d ay of things to see\, hear and do for all ages! Featuring Basque\, Scottish \, and Peruvian dancers and musicians\, sheep shearing demonstrations\, 80+ sheep and wool product vendors\, and children’s activities.\\nSheep Tale s Gathering - Friday\, October 9 @ 7pm\\n\\n\\n\\n\\nOnline ticket sales cl ose Thursday\, October 8th at 12pm\, after that\, tickets may be available at the door for purchase\, subject to availability.\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\nThe 2026 Festival will again feature the storytelling arm of our event - the S heep Tales Gathering.  This event will feature esteemed\, James Beard nomi nated Boise resident and chef – Dan Ansotegui.  Dan is a well-known loca l Basque chef in Boise owning and operating such restaurants as Bar Gernika and Ansots Basque Chorizos & Catering\, and founding The Basque Market.\\n \\n\\n\\n\\n\\n\\nDan will be joined by John Ysura who has a PhD in history with a specialty in the history of the Basque diaspora of the western Unit ed States\, as well as Patty Miller who is the Basque Community History Pr oject Director for the Basque Museum and Cultural Center in Boise\, Idaho.\ \n\\nTogether\, they will present "Basque Food In The West: There to Here a nd Then to Now" speaking about how Basque food has changed from the farmhou ses of the Basque country of Spain and France\, to the Basque owned boardin g houses\, and to today's Basque restaurants throughout the U.S.\\n\\n\\nCu linary Events - October 7 to October 10\\nFor the Love of Lamb tastings\, L amb Fest at the Folklife Fair\, Cooking with Lamb classes and a Cheese Maki ng class\, and Farm to Table Lamb Dinners featuring Idaho lamb from local r anchers.\\nWool Fest - October 8 to 10\\nfeaturing 22 classes and workshops on creating with wool.\\nHappy Trails Closing Party - Sunday\, October 11\ \nin Ketchum Town Square (before and after the Big Sheep Parade) featuring vendors\, food\, and live music.\\nFor a full schedule of activities click here. For tickets\, lodging deals and more visit www.trailingofthesheep.org .\\nTO VOLUNTEER CLICK HERE.\\n\\n\\nhttps://youtu.be/h55TvpjBhs4\\n\\nAbou t the Trailing of the Sheep Festival\\n\\nThe Trailing of the Sheep Festiva l has also garnered some well-deserved accolades over the years\, including being recognized as one of the Top Ten Fall Festivals in the World by msn. com travel\, Top Ten US Fall Festivals by smartertravel.com\, Top Animal Fe stivals in the World and Top Ten Fall Festivals by USA Today\, Top 7 Fun Fa ll Festivals by AARP\,  One of the Greatest Cultural Events in the West by Northwest Travel\, and recipient of the Society of American Travel Writer s Phoenix Award for best in cultural tourism\, and the  Idaho Governor s Award for Cultural Heritage.\\n\\nMedia Contacts:  \\n\\nLaura Musbach Drake\, Director\, Trailing of the Sheep Festival\, 208.720.0585\, laura@tr ailingofthesheep.org\\n\\nCarol Waller\, Festival PR\, CW Communications\, 208.720.3965\, carol@cw-communications.com\\n\\nIMAGES TO DOWNLOAD FOR MEDI A USE HERE: https://trailingofthesheep.org/news-media/media/ URL:https://visitsunvalley.com/events/annual-trailing-of-the-sheep-festival / END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR