The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Blue Heaven Alpacas celebrates alpacas
A pasture full of alpacas is what greeted guests at Blue Heaven Alpacas located at 5852 Middle Ridge Road in Madison Township, Sept. 24, when owners Paula and Ted Hebert opened their farm up to the community in celebration of National Alpaca Farm Day. Visitors were able to get up close to the alpacas to feed them and take photos, while the Perry Ukulele Band provided musical entertainment.
National Alpaca Farm Day is typically held the last weekend in September and is a national event where Alpaca farm owners open up their farms to the public for the purpose of educating people about Alpacas including raising and breeding them, according the Alpaca Owners Association Inc. website.
The Heberts have owned the alpaca farm for approximately 16 years and participated in National Alpaca Farm Day for the majority of those years.
The farm started mostly for investment purposes when the economy was good, said
Paula. “We used to have 60 Alpacas, but we have rehomed some of them.”
They currently have 40 alpacas, the majority they own but some they board for others, and one llama which was rescued from a slaughter facility.
In addition to the alpacas, they have a small gift shop on the farm where they sell items made from alpaca fleece, which they shear once a year. They then send the fleece out to a miller to be spun into yarn for knitting, weaving or turning into felt for hats or cloth.
The Heberts also use the alpacas for community service work as well, according to barn manager Herschell Byers. They often take the alpacas out to nursing homes and youth groups, and they open the farm for groups of children with disabilities.
Rylan, 4 and Kaelyn, 3 didn’t know what alpacas were until their mom Audra Wisniowski showed them pictures before coming to the farm.
“They love animals and this seemed like a fun little thing to do on a nice fall afternoon,” said Wisniowski.
Adults seemed to enjoy the alpacas as much as the kids.
Krysse Posavad of Madison comes to the event every year.
“I just love them (the alpacas),” said Posavad. “I like to come and see the new babies.”
Candice Goykhbeg brought her son Jacob, 3, out to the event, because she likes the Alpacas.
“We open the farm and participate because it’s a great thing,” said Paula. “It’s also a family event and we enjoy watching The farm will be open to the public again Sunday, Sept. 25 from 12:00 p.m. until 5 p.m.
people taking pictures and enjoying the day in the pastures with these magnificent animals. It’s a way for people to learn about the Alpacas.”
The farm will be open to the public again Sunday, Sept. 25 from 12:00 p.m. until 5 p.m. Entertainment will be provided by Nia Covington from 3:00 p.m. to 5 p.m.
“It’s always a free event and we enjoy it as much as the people who attend,” said Paula. “Seeing pictures that people take while they are visiting is always a joy. We get a lot of great feed back from people and it has become a great event.”