TOP LEFT: A child hugs an alpaca during a show like the one coming to the Event Center at Archer this weekend. TOP RIGHT: A young girl and her alpaca are all dressed and ready for the Costume Class competition. This competition will take place at noon Saturday at the Event Center at Archer. BOTTOM LEFT: Stuffed animals made from alpaca fleece are pictured at an alpaca show like the one coming to the Event Center at Archer this weekend. BOTTOM RIGHT: Suri alpacas stand together in advance of a show. Many alpaca breeds will be represented at this weekend’s Great Western Alpaca Show and Rocky Mountain Alpaca Showdown at the Event Center at Archer.
A young girl and her alpaca are all dressed and ready for the Costume Class competition. This competition will take place at noon Saturday at the Event Center at Archer
Suri alpacas stand together in advance of a show. Many alpaca breeds will be represented at this weekend’s Great Western Alpaca Show and Rocky Mountain Alpaca Showdown at the Event Center at Archer.
TOP LEFT: A child hugs an alpaca during a show like the one coming to the Event Center at Archer this weekend. TOP RIGHT: A young girl and her alpaca are all dressed and ready for the Costume Class competition. This competition will take place at noon Saturday at the Event Center at Archer. BOTTOM LEFT: Stuffed animals made from alpaca fleece are pictured at an alpaca show like the one coming to the Event Center at Archer this weekend. BOTTOM RIGHT: Suri alpacas stand together in advance of a show. Many alpaca breeds will be represented at this weekend’s Great Western Alpaca Show and Rocky Mountain Alpaca Showdown at the Event Center at Archer.
Alpaca Breeders of the Rockies/courtesy
A young girl and her alpaca are all dressed and ready for the Costume Class competition. This competition will take place at noon Saturday at the Event Center at Archer
Alpaca Breeders of the Rockies/courtesy
Stuffed animals made from alpaca fleece are pictured at an alpaca show like the one coming to the Event Center at Archer this weekend.
Alpaca Breeders of the Rockies/courtesy
Suri alpacas stand together in advance of a show. Many alpaca breeds will be represented at this weekend’s Great Western Alpaca Show and Rocky Mountain Alpaca Showdown at the Event Center at Archer.
CHEYENNE — This weekend, hundreds of alpacas and their humans from across the United States will converge in Cheyenne.
The Great Western Alpaca Show and the Rocky Mountain Alpaca Showdown will be held Friday through Sunday at the Event Center at Archer. The two combined shows are moving from Denver for the first time this year, said Linda Kondris, owner of Pines Edge Suri Alpacas in Elbert, Colorado.
“This is the first time these shows will take place at this beautiful, state-of-the-art facility, and participants are excited to bring their alpacas to Cheyenne,” Kondris said.
Alpaca Breeders of the Rockies, which is hosting the weekend event, is a volunteer organization with the goal of leading and influencing the future of the alpaca industry by supporting its members through education, marketing, events and public awareness. Alpaca Breeders of the Rockies is dedicated to promoting “ethical conduct in the alpaca industry, to enhancing the public’s perception of the industry, to the health and welfare of the alpacas, to the long-term well-being of the market, and to being an active voice for its members throughout the industry.”
“Alpacas are beautiful animals with wonderful fleece, and they’re easy to work with,” Kondris said. “They’re a good family animal, so a lot of families raise alpacas, and the kids do 4-H with them. They are easy livestock to work with, and the fleece is a great product.”
Friday and Saturday, the show will be open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday’s hours are 8 a.m.-1 p.m. The Event Center at Archer, 3801 Archer Parkway, is Laramie County’s new multi-purpose venue with a 49,000-square-foot finished concrete event floor and an additional 15,000-square-foot pre-function area suited for vendor booths or registration tables.
“We’ve had people already looking at the setup of the stalls, and we are just very impressed. And everyone has just been so helpful,” Kondris said. “We also like the location on Interstate 80, for people to come from the east as well as the west.”
Event admission and parking are free. Kondris recommends attending Friday or Saturday. A costume contest will begin at 12 p.m. Saturday, when young participants will “strut their stuff with their costumed alpaca.” Costumes will be judged on the comfort of the animal with foreign objects on their head, legs and feet, and how imaginative the costume is, as well as the story each participant must write in the form of a narrative about the costume.
“Saturday is a great day, because we have youth performers and costumes and a lot of fun things happening,” she said. “We will have nearly a dozen vendors present with all kinds of products. We really encourage the public to come visit, learn about alpacas and see how the show operates.”
Participants will travel from the Rocky Mountain region, but also from Oregon, California and Wisconsin. The show is the last major event of the alpaca season before weather turns too hot to travel with the animals, which are native to Peru. Alpacas will be featured in the show ring competition in classes judging conformation and fleece quality, in many categories, for both Suri and Huacaya alpacas.
Artisans will showcase alpaca fiber and examples of felting, fiber arts and more through the weekend. Vendors and farm displays will sell their latest alpaca fashions and handcrafted items.
Carrie Haderlie is a freelance journalist who covers southeast Wyoming from her home near Saratoga. She has written for the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Laramie Boomerang, Wyoming Business Report and several other publications for many years, including covering the Wyoming Legislature.
