It isn’t springtime in Waltham without a few local sheep being clipped 

Saturday marks the annual return of Gore Place’s Annual Sheepshearing Festival, a family-friendly event filled with demonstrations of traditional sheepshearing and herding dogs, live music, handmade craft and fiber artists, historic reenactments and much more. 

The Sheepshearing Festival, held at Gore Place since 1987, is the official spring kick-off for the historic 50-acre estate. The festival offers something for everyone this year, from fabric artists to history buffs still basking in the glory of this week’s Paul Revere midnight ride reenactment.

• Come to the threshing barn for a presentation on sheep farming and shearing basics by Leslie Sullivan, scheduled for 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. 
• Stop by the performance tent for a performance by Circus Smirkus at 12 p.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.
• The music tent will feature sets throughout the day by Almost Grown-Ups, Gwen Johnston & Sean Smith, and Buttons & Bows
• Herding dog demonstrations will be held every hour at the southwest corner of Gore Place
• Agricultural demonstrations include traditional hand-blade sheep shearing by Kevin Ford, Aaron Loux and Andy Rice  
• Family-friendly fiber and craft activities include quilting demonstrations, felting and basket weaving demos, spinning and loom weaving and blacksmithing
• Join in the maypole dance, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. outside the activity tent
• Historic reenactors, performers and crafters include Sudbury Ancient Fyfe and Drum Companie, Col. Bailey’s 2nd MA Regiment, Commonwealth Morris Men, Blacksmith Dean Rantz of Rock Village Forge and The 1812 Marine Guard
  

Admission to the festival is $20 for patrons ages 13 and up. Children who are 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult and will be admitted free at the gate. Gore Place members will also be admitted for free. 

Parking lots are located at 41 Seyon St. and near 132 Grove St., Waltham, and at 57 Stanley Ave., Watertown. The parking shuttle stops at these locations. Accessible parking for vehicles with state-issued HP placards/plates is located at 52 Gore St. The last shuttle departs from Gore Place at 5 p.m.
For more information, visit the Sheepshearing Festival’s official website.