Earlier this year I was asked to organize the alpaca contribution to the Islands' Sheep & Wool Fest in Duncan, British Columbia. Everyone involved agrees that this was without a doubt one of the most successful events we have ever been involved with.
This was an event for fibre artists by fibre artists which drew large crowds from among the community of spinners, weavers, knitters, felters and other fibre artisans as well as fibre animal breeders and interested public. Crafters who were first introduced to the wonders of alpaca fibre during this event are coming back for more.
The Wool Fest spanned a weekend with a fashion show taking place during the noon hour on each day. The fashion show was unique as we showcased the animals which produced the fibre for the garments. We had sheep with the woollen garments, the goats and rabbits with the angora and cashmere garments, our Great Pyrenees dog took his turn on the runway to introduce the vests made from a wool/ Great Pyrenees blend and, of course, alpacas were showcased with the alpaca garments.
The audience absolutely loved the animals being shown along with the garments. One admiring person expressed a totally new appreciation for their sweaters after seeing the fibre animals.
The fashion show was also the event that the media really picked up on so we got a lot of free publicity. Although it is not unusual to see alpacas with the models at shows displaying alpaca fashions, this was quite a unique style of fashion show for the sheep and exotic fibre breeders.
Activities took place out of doors and inside a large building on the Cowichan Exhibition Grounds. The inside portion of the show included the 4-H Wool Craft/Fibre Arts club with a spinning competition and displays of work done by the members. We had a booth for our company, Fibre Finders Alpaca Marketing, which sells alpacas for small breeders in Western Canada and the two alpacas donated for the 4-H essay contest attracted a lot of attention next to our booth.
Spinning Wheel Fibre Works from Thetis Island did a brisk business selling rovings, kits, garments and blankets. The building was filled with individual business enterprises selling everything from felted hats and woven blankets to beautiful West Coast design sweaters. If if could be made from fibre it was for sale. There was also a table of used equipment which was regularly checked out by sheep and alpaca breeder alike.
International Alpacas sponsored the Fashion Show and had their alpacas on display right beside the runway and Russell Gent from Totara Grove in New Zealand demonstrated hand shearing an alpaca using his new table.
Sue Denstedt of Monashee Woollen Mill had her display right across the isle from us. The new Saltspring Island Spinning Mill and Custom Woollen Mills were also present.
Seminars on spinning unique yarns, felting and making the most of your wool were held in our building as well as a sheep fleece competition.
Outside Barry Hanslip of Forest Green Llamas and Alpacas gave a seminar on llamas as guardians while Jennifer L'Arrivee spoke on choosing and using livestock guardian dogs. Sheep dog trials were held in a large field on the grounds.
There was also a post-mortem on a sheep and a seminar on the microscopic analysis of fecal samples to determine worm count given by a local veterinarian. Sessions on sheep evaluation and judging; vaccinations &emdash; how and why; using pasture management to reduce production costs and basic sheep husbandry were also offered. About the only seminar that may not have interested a camelid breeder was "Does Your Carcass Cut It" given by a local butcher.
Vancouver Island and the surrounding islands seem to be a mecca for fibre artists. The quality of the items on display were absolutely tops. Some of our internationally known fibre artists had declined to participate in this event until they could check out the calibre of the show. Serious artists with reputations to protect are very picky about where they show their goods. Commitments for next year's booth space from these artists were made even before the Wool Fest ended.
The Inter-Island Sheep Breeders Association who sponsored the event were thrilled with the success of Wool Fest. They felt that the inclusion of alpacas and llamas was very successful.
We alpaca people benefited from making some wonderful new friends and contacts as well as gaining acceptance within fibre-growing and using circles. We have already realized sales of alpacas and opened up new markets for our fibre.