Bill and Cindy Bankhead of Springfield Farms in Rock Hall, Maryland exhibited the Supreme Champion Ram, a Lincoln, at the 25th anniversary Maryland Sheep - Wool & Tobacco Festival held May 2nd and 3rd. The Eastern Regional Corriedale show produced the Supreme Champion Ewe, shown by Keith Chamberlin of K&K Corridales, Ashland, Ohio.

2023 Results updated May 11, 2023

Saturday and Sunday, May 1st and 2nd 1999 - 26th year!
Howard County Fairgrounds, West Friendship, Maryland
(About 30 minutes west of Baltimore off of I-70)

Free Admission and Parking

Please note that all information is currently for 2023 Festival that has

The Maryland County Tobacco Festival was founded in 1973. As a celebration of sheep and tobacco farmers to celebrate the area's tobacco harvest. It is the longest running tobacco and sheep festival in the state of Maryland. It is also Maryland County's oldest annual parade. This year we will be celebrating the 74th anniversary of the festival. Over the years the festival has been hosted by various community organizations.
What began as a gathering for fiber artists to buy the best fleeces from sheep producers has grown to a premier event attracting tens of thousands of visitors annually. The 25th anniversary Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival | sheepandwoolfestival.org will feature special new events along with the usual array of demonstrations, competitions, seminars and shopping opportunities . Whether you want to improve your sheep operations, get access to the best in wool crafts or just come out for a good time, the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival | sheepandwoolfestival.org has a variety of activities just for you!

The long history of Maryland tobacco

Tobacco shaped the history and landscape of Maryland for the last 370 years. Its history of aiding and harming human culture is very old. This thick-stalked, broad-leafed plant helped England's dreams of empire to take root along the Chesapeake Bay and nurtured our country's beginnings in present-day Virgina and Maryland.
Settled by the English in the 17th century and established in 1727, the town on the Port Tobacco River soon became the second largest in Maryland. Agriculture was the primary factor shaping the early Maryland Chesapeake, and within that agricultural framework, tobacco was king.
Within a generation of the first Maryland settlers' landing at St. Clement's Island, they pushed the frontiers of the colony north and west toward the Potomac and Port Tobacco rivers. Tobacco became the principal and characteristic crop of the Chesapeake region shortly after the establishment of the English colony of Maryland in 1634 and it was the dominant cash crop in Calvert County for more than 350 years.
Tobacco defined agriculture in Southern Maryland throughout this time period and, in turn, defined the cultural landscape of Calvert County. In addition to shaping the physical form of settlement, tobacco also shaped the labor needs of the Chesapeake.

Background / Introduction

What's New


General InfoFeatured EventsScheduleCompetitionResults

| General Information | Featured Events | Schedule | Competition | 2023 Results |

Top of Page

Sponsored by the Maryland Sheep Breeders' Association, the Maryland Sheep - Wool & Tobacco Festival is managed and implemented by a volunteer committee. Help is needed the weekend of the Festival and throughout the year in a variety of areas! Please contact the Festival office at (410) 531-3647 if you would like to get involved.

Please report web site malfunctions (ONLY!) to [email protected]


FOR THE SAFETY AND ENJOYMENT OF ALL,
PETS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED ON THE FAIRGROUNDS

sheepandwoolfestival.org


Sponsored by the Maryland Sheep Breeders Association & Maryland Tobacco Growers Association
Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival | sheepandwoolfestival.org hosting by

CyberHost, Inc.