Alpaca Extravaganza teaches attendees about farm life, fiber arts
Thousands attended the alpaca-lypse at Boulder County Fairgrounds over the weekend, for a chance to learn more about the fluffy creature and how its fleece can be used for fluffy creations.
The Alpaca Breeders Alliance of Northern Colorado has been holding the Alpaca Extravaganza for more than 20 years.
Alpacas were first imported into the United States in 1984, but there were plenty of alpacas in the country before then. The animal was domesticated approximately 6,000 years ago in Peru, mainly for the many uses of their wool.
Ann Danielson, barn manager of the Alpaca Extravaganza and owner of Annie’s Alpacas Ranch, said the event is a chance for people to get to know alpacas better, from farm care to buying alpaca wool socks to learning how to spin wool to yarn.
The extravaganza included six seminars discussing the alpaca business, with Danielson’s seminar “Day in the Life of An Alpaca Rancher” discussing her day-today duties and farm chores. Other classes discussed the tax considerations of having an alpaca farm, breeding alpacas, fiber arts and more.
Cindy Fronk, owner of Stargazer Ranch, said the event aims to educate people about alpacas. She said while she is not vegan, she did not want to be involved in an industry where she would have to slaughter animals for profit.
So when she and her husband were looking for ways to monetize farm life, alpacas fit the bill.
Fronk said there are two types of alpacas, for two kinds of fleece. The extravaganza mostly had huacaya alpacas, which have a crimped fleece for a soft, fluffy texture. Suri alpacas have a straight, silky fleece for a more elegant look.
“Huacaya fiber is better for knit or crochet products. Suri is better for woven products, but it depends on what the fiber artist wants to do with it,” Fronk said.
She said the llama is the cousin to the alpacas, but llamas are bigger, stronger and more aggressive. Because alpacas were domesticated for their fur, they are naturally docile, calm animals.
“(The alpacas) are very gentle with women and children,” Fronk said.
Danielson also said alpacas are naturally drawn to kids, and the extravaganza is a great way to introduce children to the animal.
Lynn Boak, owner of Arroyo Seco in Cheyenne, Wyo., said she and her husband started their alpaca farm because she fell in love with the fluffy creature.
“I’m a city girl, so it was a learning process,” Boak said.
She grew up near New York City, and her husband grew up in Miami, so farm life was a new adventure for them. However, they now own around 40 alpacas.
Throughout the process of maintaining their alpaca farm, Boak learned a variety of fiber arts.
She said that it is rewarding to be there for the entire fiber arts process, from raising the alpaca to knitting a scarf with their wool.
Alongside owning the farm, she is also a tax lawyer for fellow alpaca farm owners in Wyoming and Colorado.
She led the “Business Entities and Tax Considerations” seminar Saturday.