Alpaca Industry News–Instead: Upcoming Events:

There were no bulletins from ARI or AOBA this week, so I’ll post a few events coming up next week from the AOBA website.

http://www.alpacainfo.com/calendar.asp#Jul09

Alpacas in Mainstream Media

Summer’s Here! Time to Shed That Heavy Fleece
Lancaster Farming - Ephrata,PA,USA
You may have spent the past month or two packing away your winter clothing, but it’s just not that simple for an alpaca. These South American natives don’t …
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Enter Jay Ward, owner of Light Livestock Equipment in Jay, New York. An alpaca owner himself, Ward has been helping shearers and alpaca owners grow more proficient at shearing by hosting an alpaca shearing school for the past two years.

“A number of years ago, I was a professional shearer, and I had to cut back, so we started the school in order for alpaca owners to learn to do it themselves, and for others to do it professionally in order to fill the void,” said Ward.

June 27
High in the Andes, Peruvians mark Christ’s appearance to shepherd boy
Catholic News Service - DC,USA
“It is no longer a celebration of llama and alpaca herders.” Father Antonio Sanchez-Guardamino, a Jesuit from Spain’s Basque region and pastor in the town …
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“The festival of the Lord of Qoyllur Rit’i, marking Christ’s appearance to a young shepherd boy and coinciding with the full moon nearest to the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, dates to the 1780s, though its roots probably go back further. Like many religious traditions, it has evolved over the centuries, but it is now threatened by tourism, global warming and simple economics.”

“In the middle of the night, columns of men dressed in shaggy robes representing bears or black alpacas slipped away by moonlight and climbed for several hours over narrow, rocky trails to glaciers high on the mountain walls. The men, known as “pablos,” play a special role during the fiesta, and their pilgrimage to the ice is a high point of the celebration.”

6-29-09

WABA Socks

I won’t make a habit of tooting our own horn, but I am Vice President of the WABA, the Willamette Alpaca Breeders Association. A couple years ago, WABA bought $500 worth of alpaca socks and sent them to the troops in Afghanistan. They were such a hit that we did it again this year. I’ll read the note the President of WABA sent about the donation.

Good Morning Everyone,

I thought I should let you know that the socks arrived and I gave them over to the local Veterans group who will be shipping them to the Middle East tomorrow along with other donations for the troops at no cost to us. The local representative was very pleased to get donation. She was very effusive with her praise for the alpaca farmers who contributed. She was really pleased that the alpaca was grown in America and that the socks were made here as well. There will be some public fan fare when the goods are shipped off and the radio station KTRT will cover it at 9:00 tomorrow morning. WABA will be credited with the donation on the air.

Greg Schneider

—————————————–

Sylvan Skies Alpacas

40980 Rodgers Mountain Loop

Scio, Oregon 97374

(503) 551-0069

Things That Make You Go “Hmmm.”

June 29
COMING EVENTS
Staten Island Advance - SILive.com - Staten Island,NY,USA
STATEN ISLAND, NY — The Staten Island Zoo has announced its first-ever “Alpaca Kissing Contest BBQ” July 11, 1 to 4 pm at the zoo in West Brighton. …
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Staten Island Zoo has announced its first-ever “Alpaca Kissing Contest BBQ” July 11, 1 to 4 p.m. at the zoo in West Brighton. The cost to attend the barbecue is $10 for adults and $7 for children 10 years and under. No reservations are necessary. For further information, contact the Zoo at 718-442-3174, ext. 37.

Voting is taking place now to determine who is the lucky one to pucker up with, what else, a cute and cuddly alpaca. The results will be revealed at the barbecue. Christine Quinn, speaker of the City Council; Assemblymen Lou Tobacco and Matthew Titone, State Sen. Diane Savino, Greg T from Z100, and John Caltabiano, executive director of the Staten Island Zoo, have all entered the Alpaca Kissing contest and are urging all their supporters to vote for them.

Farm Shout-Outs

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This entry was posted on Friday, July 3rd, 2009 at 8:12 pm and is filed under Alpacas in the News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.