With fuzzy hair topping their heads and soft, fluffy fiber covering their bodies, alpacas are occasionally likened to funny-looking teddy bears. But 6-year-old Waylon Doucet didn’t think so.
“I don’t think they’re funny-looking; I think they’re beautiful,” he said.
Until Saturday, Waylon had never seen an alpaca. But they’re a hard thing to miss at Alpacapalooza, an annual event that celebrates the docile South American animals. Held at the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds, the weekend features animal judging, vendors, a silent auction and alpacas for sale.
Though Waylon’s love for alpacas has just begun, his mother and grandmother have both grown to love the animals over the years and have made Alpacapalooza a tradition.
Lisa Doucet, 48, of Ridgefield first spotted an alpaca when she driving to work. Being from Louisiana, she couldn’t tell what it was.
“I told my co-worker, ‘I just saw a llama with a ‘fro,’ ” she said, laughing. “I’ve loved them ever since. I like their personalities; they’re so timid and curious.”
When Doucet’s daughter Brittany Doucet moved to the area, the two went to Alpacapalooza as something to do together. She, too, grew to love the animals, appreciating the high-pitched humming noise the creatures make.
They haven’t missed a year since, and on Saturday, Brittany introduced her son Waylon to the tradition. He enjoyed petting the animals the best.
“I like all their fur. It’s soft and curly,” Waylon said.
Alpaca breeders from around the area attended the event to show off their fleecy animals.
Jean Van Effen from Yelm brought her breeding male, Fugi, who won first place in his category.
Van Effen is also a fiber artist, but she can do each job in the process of making an alpaca hair sweater or scarf: breed, shear, separate fiber, spin the yarn, and, finally, weave.
Of all the steps, she said, she most enjoys witnessing as an alpaca loses its fur.
“There’s something magical about watching the fleece come off,” she said. “There’s the possibility of what this (fiber) is going to become … I love getting my hands in it.”
And because it doesn’t have lanolin, the itchy agent found in sheep’s wool, alpaca hair is famously soft, strong and weather-resistant.
“It’s like wearing a cloud,” explained Margo Lane, who also attended Saturday. “It’s so warm.”
Lane has come to Alpacapalooza for years with her mother, and said she’s bought earmuffs, gloves and socks. But mostly, she said, she loves seeing the animals that produced the beautiful fabric.
“They just have a presence; they seem so regal,” she said. “We just love alpacas.”
Alpacapalooza continues today from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
