February 18, 2023
Churro Week is an annual event held in Northern New Mexico. During Churro Week, the extended fiber community explores the deep local roots of this livestock and helps to raise awareness about the importance of the Navajo-Churro sheep. The New Mexico Fiber Arts Center / Espanola Valley Fiber Arts Center (NMFAC/EVFAC) has been organizing Churro week since 2014. It started as a consortium of shepherds, spinners and end-product makers to promote and sustain the Churro fibershed. This event celebrates the importance of the Churro heritage sheep breed to communities in the American Southwest.
The presentation includes a conversation with members of the Churro Week team: Leigh Alexander is a full time weaver, EVFAC board member & Churro Week Coordinator. Roy Kady is a Diné (Navajo) sheep herder and weaver residing in the community of Goats Spring on the outskirts of Teec Nos Pos, Arizona. Joseph Weathers is executive director of the Mora Valley Spinning Mill, a non-profit spinning mill specializing in long staple fibers ranging from churro sheep to alpaca, yak, and camel. Emily Trujillo is an eighth generation Chimayo (Rio Grande) tapestry weaver. She teaches Rio Grande weaving at the Espanola Valley Fiber Arts Center and is working to develop an apprenticeship program for the Chimayo weavers.