About Us

A Proud Biennial Tradition Since 1979

The first Eastern Great Lakes Fiber Conference was held in September 1979 at the State University of New York in Fredonia. It was “conceived as a means for providing more and better communication among the fiber craftspeople in Western New York, Northwestern Pennsylvania and Southern Ontario.”

Since that time, the conference has been held in several locations around Western New York and has included participants from Ohio and other locales around the country. We’ve grown to a three-day holiday weekend in October. Since 1987 we have mostly met on the beautiful grounds of the historic Chautauqua Institution.

We flex with the times.  Our 2021 conference was canceled due to Covid-19.  With the Pandemic mostly behind us, we moved forward with a lively conference in 2023, with renewed enthusiasm and an eye toward continuing back on track for 2025.  The 2025 conference can not be at the Chautauqua Institution however, due to major renovations in our former venue.

While the primary goal of sharing ideas has remained the same, the conference has evolved in new ways and grown to add seven lively and energizing workshops for fiber artists from the beginner to those with years of fiber arts under their belt.

This event is built on the enthusiasm of the following regional guilds:

The Eastern Great Lakes Fiber Conference was incorporated in 1981 in Monroe County NY.  As of July 2014 we are listed with the IRS as a domestic not for profit 501 (c) (3) corporation.  Our efforts are all-volunteer and managed by a board of directors.  Conference income is largely from those attending and expenses are all related to the biennial conference.