Celebrate National Alpaca Days

www.dancingmoonalpacas.com

www.tanglewoodalpacas.com

You’ve seen the alpaca commercials on TV, now step into the world of alpacas and meet these beautiful animals with the exquisite fiber and gentle temperaments in person!

Alpaca ranches located in Agua Dulce (part of the greater Los Angeles area) will open their doors to ONE AND ALL on Saturday and Sunday, September 27th & 28th from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. each day.

Tanglewood Suri Alpacas (in business now for over 11 years) along with Dancing Moon Alpacas, Sterling Alpacas, Alpacas of Marin, Socal Suri Alpacas, Sweet Water Alpaca Ranch and Saddleback Mountain Ranch will offer “hands on” personalized introductions to the alpaca industry, showing off their new babies (called “cria”) and all their alpacas from their “pet” quality to their high-end Champions.

A representative from PRI (Public Radio International) will be interviewing Dancing Moon Alpaca’s owner, Ann Hayes at Tanglewood Suri Alpacas on Saturday, Sept. 27th.

With over 60 alpacas on-site, Tanglewood Suri Alpacas (in conjunction with Dancing Moon Alpacas, Sterling Alpacas, Alpacas of Marin and Socal Suri Alpacas) will entertain, educate and entice you with:

Spinning demonstrations
Interactive felting and fiber art demonstrations (for young and old alike)
Alpaca fiber and yarn for sale
Alpaca clothing (including scarves, gloves for Christmas gifts) for sale
One-on-one introductions to the alpaca fiber and its qualities and marketability

There will be plenty of experienced enthusiastic alpaca owners at all the locations to answer all your questions. . .

What is an alpaca?

Alpacas are luxuriously soft fleece (fiber) producing members of the camelid (or camel) family. These mild tempered and inquisitive animals were first imported into the United State in 1984. Since then the North American alpaca industry has grown steadily to a current estimate of over 120,000 registered alpacas and over 4000 alpaca owners.

Alpacas have co-existed with mankind for thousands of years and are indigenous to the high Andean Plateau and mountains of South American, though today they are raised worldwide for their soft, silky, warm fleece.

Alpacas are bred for their exquisite fiber. Once reserved for Incan royalty, the fleece is now enjoyed by spinners and weavers around the world, as well as coveted by Italian fashion houses for use in their high end clothing lines. .Because of its soft, extremely fine texture, alpaca fiber is sometimes compared to cashmere. Making the fiber even more sought after, it has the luster of silk. It comes in 22 natural colors, yet can be dyed to any desired shade.

There are two breeds of alpacas differentiated primarily by their fleece (or fiber) characteristics; huacaya (wa-KI-ah) and suri (surrey).

Huacaya fleece has a “crimp” giving the animal a fluffy, almost “Teddy-Bear” like appearance and is highly desired for use in knitted end products. It also is as warm but only 1/3 the weight of comparable wool.

Suri fleece grows in long, silky distinctive pencil locks that gently cascade from the body. Because of it’s amazing fine, silky, lustrous texture it is used in much the same way as silk bringing richness and luster to woven fabric. Suri fleece is the rarer of the two types currently being bred world-wide.

Adult alpacas stand at approximately 36 inches at the withers and generally weigh between 150 and 200 pounds. They do not have horns, hooves, claws or incisors. Alpacas are alert, intelligent, curious, and predictable. Social animals that seek companionship, they communicate most commonly by softly humming. Females have a single offspring every year at an approximate 11-1/2 month gestation.

Alpacas are shorn, without harm, once every spring and generally produce five to ten pounds of luxurious fiber each year.