Alpaca Show to flock to town

The Australian Alpaca Association will take over the Bendigo Showgrounds later this month for this year’s national show.

Alpaca enthusiasts can look forward to three days of events and activities aimed at showcasing the best the industry has to offer.

This year’s lead convenor is Jonathon Provis-Vincent, an alpaca farmer and judge at the show in previous years.

Mr Provis-Vincent said there is a lot of motivation and commitment in the alpaca breeding community and this year’s show would be the biggest one yet.

“My main objective for this show is to show everyone that over the difficult few years that have happened recently, and all the ups and downs, that alpacas are back and better than ever,” he said.

Mr Provis-Vincent said he is passionate about building a sustainable alpaca industry and wants to show people what the animals are capable of.

He said he is frequently asked by people whether his alpacas are going to spit at them.

“The typical answer is no,” he said, “they may happen to spit at each other if they’re arguing about food but they’re quite gentle towards people.”

In addition to youth, animal and fleece events, a section of the show will be dedicated to art, photography and craft inspired by alpacas.

The art show, which has a record number of entries this year will be judged by Bendigo based visual artist Sarah Wallace-Smith.

Convenor of the art show Sharon Dawson said she was pleased with the entries that had been submitted.

“I think we’ll have some beautiful pictures and photos on display,” she said.

Ms Dawson is an artist known for her animal portraiture and said her art practice is a way for her to relax.

“Alpacas are actually quite difficult to draw,” she said. “But they’re such an appealing looking animal, their eyes are very gentle and inquisitive,

“And taking photos, everyone just wants to get that perfect shot and they’re pretty photogenic so there’s the joy in that,” said Ms Dawson.

Ms Dawson said she is hoping to see more public involvement this year.

“It would be really good to see the public walking through and taking a bit of an interest in everything alpaca.”

The Australian Alpaca National Show will be on at the Bendigo Showgrounds from 17 to 19 August.