Dates of Event: March 31-April 2, 2017 (photos taken April 1)
Location: Eastern States Exposition Center, Mallory Building, 1305 Memorial Ave, West Springfield, MA (2 hours west of Boston, MA)
Cost: Free
Parking: ample parking is provided, free of charge, at the rear and side of the Mallory Building
Handicapped Accessible: Yes
Highlights: Alpacas, Alpaca shows, products made from Alpaca fleece
Web Site: North American Alpaca Show
Known for their seemingly ever present signature smile and calm demeanor, alpacas are one of the more popular animals in the New England area. Alpaca farms have been springing up more and more in the Northeast area. In fact, the New England Alpacas Owners and Breeders Association (NEAOBA) lists 85 breeders in the New England and New York area. Many of these breeders and owners met last weekend at the Eastern States Exposition Center in West Springfield, MA. The owners and breeders came as far away as Phoenix, New York and parts of Maine and Vermont.
Besides being absolutely adorable and generally calm animals, alpacas are said to be very smart animals. They often tend to pack together, you know like you expect from alpackas. Okay enough word play. For now. As you can see from the photos below, they do like to be close to each other.
But, I did manage to get a few Alpacas on their own to photograph which was hard to do since they were all packed in there together (I told you I wasn’t done with my word play). There are so many different colors and sizes. Fun facts: the average alpaca can grow to be 150 to 175 pounds! They also have a life span of 15-20 years and can grow to be as tall 3 feet at the shoulders and 4.5 feet tall by the head.
I also liked this “Alpaca photo bomb”
Alpacas are shown and judged (they all received ribbons from to last place) and they are generally calm while they are being shown, except when their personal space is encroached. But, overall they were very graceful.
Some of the alpacas appeared to mouth the metal fencing of their pens. This is not uncommon. In fact, one owner said he keeps baby teething rings for his alpacas and they enjoy using them.
Most of the alpacas were very friendly, albeit a little guarded. But, once they warm up to you, they were very social. In fact, they seemed to pose for me. That is what I noticed most about them. They seem to have a lot of personality.
There were also several people selling many products made from alpaca fleece. They sold a variety of products made from alpaca fleece. They were even selling alpacas made from alpacas (fleece). Being an animal lover, I inquired about the shearing process and I was informed that it is a simple, quick process that does not hurt the animals.
One of the cool things about these cuties is how they communicate to each other in a variety of ways such as through posture, the movement of their tails and some of them even make a noise the owners and breeders call “humming”.
April 5th, 2017 at 4:10 am
I love this post! Thank you for sharing! Yes, they are very curious creatures and I just love watching them run around and play…
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April 6th, 2017 at 10:59 am
They are very affectionate, curious and smart. They are also very playful. They were a lot of fun to photograph! Thank you, Christina!
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April 5th, 2017 at 9:04 am
I hope you came home from this event with, at the least, a matching hat and glove set. They look lovely sweet animals. Over here a good few sheep farmers use their relatives, the llama, to guard their flocks of sheep. They are very aggressive and protective, apparently,and are only too happy to give a feral dog a good kick or fifty.
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April 6th, 2017 at 10:34 am
I had not realized the llama was such an aggressive animal. That is weird since the alpaca is such a docile animal. Well, then, I’ll make sure too avoid any llama shows!
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April 5th, 2017 at 11:13 am
I now want an alpaca made from alpacas wearing a cute hat! Love this post!
x The Captain
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April 6th, 2017 at 10:31 am
I know! Who knew there were so many things you could do with alpacas! Thank you!
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April 5th, 2017 at 12:54 pm
Oh my gosh! There are so adorable and clownish! ❤ After seeing the images I already wanted one, but after that humming video I want a whole pack!
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April 6th, 2017 at 10:30 am
I almost ended up taking one home!
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April 6th, 2017 at 11:25 am
I can totally imagine. So cute :3
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April 5th, 2017 at 2:05 pm
Sooo cute! They must have been babies! The ones we saw in Peru are tall and large and definitely not so cute!
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April 6th, 2017 at 10:29 am
I do think most of the alpacas were on the younger side. That is interesting because the alpacas I saw were so cute! Thank you.
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April 6th, 2017 at 1:07 am
They’re so cute! Thanks for sharing.
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April 6th, 2017 at 10:27 am
Yes, they are super cute! Thank you for reading and commenting!
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April 6th, 2017 at 1:10 pm
An adventure that involves a lot of cuties – now that is a fun day. 🙂
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April 6th, 2017 at 3:06 pm
It was a great time! Thank you Judy!
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April 9th, 2017 at 2:47 pm
hello new england nomad its dennis the vizsla dog hay those alpacas shoor ar kyoot!!! like jiant stuffeez!!! and they sownd like kazoos!!! i want wun of my verry own!!! ok bye
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April 10th, 2017 at 1:42 am
They are basically like really big dogs so i think you would get along fine with you!
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April 10th, 2017 at 11:30 am
Oh they are sweet and the humming is adorable 🙂
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April 11th, 2017 at 12:19 am
That alpaca was my favorite as well!
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April 11th, 2017 at 9:31 pm
OMG! They are too cute!
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April 12th, 2017 at 12:58 am
Yes, they are very cute! Thank you, Tiny!
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April 16th, 2019 at 1:19 pm
Impossible not to smile looking at these photos! Great post 🙂
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April 16th, 2019 at 7:15 pm
Thank you! Yes, they are such cuties!
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