May 17 - 18, 2025
Introduction to Broom Making with Gary Robinson (Start time: 9:00 am, End time: Sat - 5:00 pm, Sun - 3:00 pm)
Waterford Craft School - John Wesley Church • 40125 Bond St. Waterford, VA 20197 Organized by Waterford Craft School
Registration closed.
About this event
Students will learn the history of broomcorn and broom making. Tools and materials will be discussed, as well as the unique quality of broomcorn as a broom making material. Each student will have an opportunity to make at least one cobweb broom, one round shaker broom, one round hand broom, and one turkey wing style broom. Additional brooms will be made as time allows. Come join master broom maker, Gary Robinson, for a weekend of broom making! Class price includes materials fee. Gary Robinson Gary is a native of the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia, and started making brooms full-time over 30 years ago, allowing him to remain in the mountains he loves. After learning his craft from master broom maker, Carlson Tuttle, at the John C. Campbell Folk School in 1991, Gary began participating in some of the finest juried craft shows in the state, including the Waterford Fair since 1994 and the Colonial Market & Fair at George Washington’s Mount Vernon since 1999. Gary’s brooms appeared in the film Sommersby starring Richard Gere and Jodie Foster and have also been used for historical interpretation at Mount Vernon.