Minnesota State Fair hosts another llama-alpaca costume contest for the ages
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The Lee & Rose Warner Coliseum was packed with fairgoers Wednesday evening. The faint smell of fried food and manure hung in the air. And a herd of alpacas and llamas — along with their student handlers — strutted on a catwalk of hay and dirt.
This is the annual 4-H Llama-Alpaca Costume Competition at the Minnesota State Fair.
The 4-H’ers were all competing for one thing: a champion title for the best costume of their division.
Displays of music and movie icons, parody vehicles and weather events, dinosaurs and everyday household objects adorned these 100-300 pound creatures and their handlers.
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“It’s so fun to just see the people point at you and your animal because you look ridiculous in the street,” said 10th grader Keely Hinkle who had a Pirates of the Caribbean-inspired costume for her and her 7-year-old alpaca, Dreah.
The Llama-Alpaca Costume Contest is an event in the 4-H’s livestock program. 4-H is a youth development program that is the largest in Minnesota, Madeline Eaton, senior communications specialist for 4-H, said.
As part of the livestock programs, the llama-alpaca project offers young people an opportunity to raise and learn about livestock. For participants who compete in their county fairs and make it to the State Fair, a special perk is the llama-alpaca costume competition, which is an optional contest.
“I think my favorite is that when I’m in the ring, I’m not only seeing my own costume, and I’m really proud of what I made, but I can see everyone else's costume that they made, and it’s all super cool. It’s like I get a front row seat to the whole thing,” said 11th grader Maddie Lane.
Lane enjoys costumes that are recognizable, so this year she chose to be Willy Wonka with her 7-year-old llama Ptolomaeus — nicknamed Pi for short since he was born on Pi Day — going as a candy-overed Oompa-Loompa.
“With all the three different Wonka movies, I was like, ‘this will work.’ I think everyone will be able to recognize some part of it and really just say, ‘Hey, I know that. That’s really cool to see that around here,’” she said.
This year there are 43 costume contest entries across three divisions: intermediate (grades 6-8), senior (grades 9-10) and advanced (grades 11+).
Costumes are judged on originality, training, degree of llama-alpaca coverage, as well as time and energy involved. Both the handler and the animal are in costume.
Costumes can be made from purchased or designed objects with 4-H students molding cardboard, Styrofoam, fabrics of all types and wigs to perfectly fit their animal.
The filled coliseum roared with applause, gasps and chuckles throughout the competition. There was genuine awe as fairgoers saw what these young handlers had created.
“It’s delightful. And the creativity of all the kids is amazing, and some of them aren’t very old,” said one attendee, Cindy Olson.
The costume contest is about more than just fun design and show, it offers students a chance to build more trust with their animals — because llamas and alpacas are not keen on having their heads, ears or toes covered up.
“It’s awesome to see it. But the hardest part is definitely getting them to cooperate and getting them to wear it,” Lane said. “If I had just gotten him, I would have definitely not been able to put this whole costume on him. But with the years of work that I’ve had with him, we’ve definitely built a bond where I think he trusts me to put all of it on him. I’ve gotten a lot of confidence with my llama, and he just gives me a lot of comfort when I’m with him.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by Lyn Meany, a long time 4-H volunteer who now oversees the llama-alpaca program. Her children used to show llamas at the fair and participated in the costume contest. She says the competitive spirit for these costumes has only grown.
“It’s the ingenuity that they have to come up with. From when my kids started to now, the costumes are so technical and so complex that there’s just no room for error. You have to have the full coverage. You have to have things on their feet, you have to have things on their ears. You have to have things strapped to them and dangling. And that is not what the llama likes,” Meany said. “There’s an incredible amount of trust between the handler and the llama to know, ‘yep, you’re going to lead me through. I can’t feel where my feet are going. I can’t feel my ears. I have no protection.’”
And this trust is transferable, the handlers say. Hinkle said the contest itself has taught her more about her alpaca.
“It has definitely taught me patience with not just animals, but with people as well. And it’s taught me when to step back because people and animals just need a minute, and when to push a little more,” she said.
The costume contest, which moved from the Compeer Arena, a smaller venue at the fair, to the Warner Coliseum due to the popularity, is also a great way to teach the public about 4-H, said Eaton.
“It brings great awareness to the 4-H program and to the llama and alpaca project area, and it's really popular,” Eaton said. “It’s a good educational opportunity to educate the public and then also maybe teach them what 4-H is.”
Eaton says there can be a common misconception that 4-H has programs exclusively around livestock, but this statewide program emphasizes youth leadership and offers STEM, clothing and videography programs.
These alpacas and llamas will be at the fair through Friday with a performance and showmanship competition.
For fairgoers, adding these two animals to their list of livestock can’t be overlooked. The students and the fans love the uniqueness of showing a llama or alpaca has here in Minnesota.
“Llamas are caring and they are loving and they are excited to see you,” Meany said. “They’re just something unique that you get to show. Everybody shows a dog and horses are incredibly popular, but llamas are unique and that love and trust that you get is amazing.”