Sock Monkey Madness Festival

Sock Monkey Madness Festival - Under the Big TopRockford, IL - An original one-of-a-kind event, Sock Monkey Madness Festival, will return as a unique celebration of Rockford's past by highlight

 

Sock Monkey Madness Festival - Under the Big Top

Rockford, IL - An original one-of-a-kind event, Sock Monkey Madness Festival, will return as a unique celebration of Rockford's past by highlighting its knitting industry and boom of the stuffed sock toy which continues as a large part of America's pop culture from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, March 7 and March 8, at Midway Village Museum, 6799 Guilford Road, Rockford. 

 

The Nelson Knitting Company of Rockford manufactured and sold red heeled work socks which became a popular household item during the Great Depression to sew and create a Sock Monkey stuffed toy.   Aware of the sock monkey craze, the company included the Sock Monkey pattern with each pair of socks sold at that time.  In recent years, the Sock Monkey has gained a come back and is sold in department and specialty stores nation wide. 

 

At the family festival, visitors to Midway Village Museum have the opportunity to use their own talents and imagination to create a Sock Monkey.   Attractions at the event also include:  an exhibit featuring the local history of the knitting industry, the creation of the sock monkey, sock monkey workshops, book signings, a Miss Sockford talent contest, medical check-ups for sock monkeys and a film festival.  The museum store will also sell locally crafted sock monkeys and accessories, and themed out-of-the ordinary merchandise.

 

Included in this Under the Big Top will be:

• The Third Annual International Sock Monkey Film Festival
• (2) Ms. / Mr. Sockford 2009 Sock Monkey Pageants: child & adult categories
•  Sock monkey crafts for kids
• An exhibit entitled The Missing Link: Socks, Monkeys, and Rockford's Industrial Past, featuring Nelson, the seven-foot sock monkey!
• Collectors' displays
• How to Make-a-Monkey workshops (additional fee)
• Sockford General Hospital, where ailing sock monkeys can get new stuffing or a wellness check from our resident surgeons
• Vendors of sock monkeys, accessories, and supplies

 

Admission is $7 adults, $4 children and students (3 to 17).  Museum members are free.  There is an additional charge for workshops.  For details, contact Jessica MacDonald at 815-397-9112, ext. 104 or jessica.macdonald@midwayvillage.com.  Midway Village Museum is located on Rockford's east side at 6799 Guilford Rd., Rockford, Illinois just one mile off I-90.

 

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