Where the Foothills Meet the Flock
Free Rein Creative is proud to announce our partnership with the Idaho Wool Growers Association to help coordinate Sheep in the Foothills celebrating it’s second year as a beloved Idaho event! This is more than an event partnership. It's a chance to help connect communities, honor a way of life that has defined this region for generations, and bring more people to the table, or in this case, to the pasture!
Sheep in the Foothills takes place on May 9, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Howell Station Event Center in Avimor, set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Idaho foothills. The event is hosted by the Idaho Wool Growers Association in partnership with Avimor and the Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission, and it's exactly the kind of gathering that reminds you what community is supposed to feel like.
Idaho's sheep industry isn't a footnote in this state's history, it's a cornerstone of it. For generations, sheep ranchers have worked these foothills, tending their flocks across the rangeland, shaping the landscape and the culture of the communities around them. Sheep in the Foothills exists to celebrate that legacy and to make sure it isn't forgotten, especially by the neighbors who share their grazing space!
That's the gap Free Rein Creative is passionate about closing. The same instinct that brought us to the Farmers and Foodies table is what drew us to this partnership. When farming communities and broader communities don't know each other, something is lost on both sides. Events like this one create the conditions for real connection.
The day will be packed with experiences for all ages. Attendees can watch sheep shearing demonstrations, see working sheepdogs in action, explore a historic sheep wagon display, try lamb for the first time (or the hundredth), and browse a vendors market full of Idaho sheep, lamb, wool, and agricultural goods. There's also wool spinning and weaving on display, an Idaho lamb lunch, and the kind of slow, unhurried afternoon that's increasingly rare to find.
Our role in all of this is to help make the coordination seamless, so the Idaho Wool Growers Association can focus on what they do best, and attendees can show up and simply enjoy the day. From marking and social media support to community outreach, Free Rein Creative is bringing the same connective energy we've invested in Idaho's food community to the broader agricultural world.
If you've ever wanted to understand where your food comes from, what sheep ranching actually looks like up close, or just spend a May morning in the foothills with your family and a plate of Idaho lamb, this is the event for you!
For more information, visit sheepinthefoothills.com
