Hundreds of Alpacas to Compete at the Summit County Fairgrounds at Annual Buckeye Alpaca Fall Fest

Tallmadge, Ohio – Alpacas are raised for their luxurious fleece throughout the United States, but with more than 26,000 registered animals, Ohio is the country’s leading state in alpaca numbers.

Every year, hundreds of alpacas from as far away as Oregon, alpaca enthusiasts and fiber artists gather for the Buckeye Alpaca Fall Fest. This year’s show will take place November 2nd and 3rd at the Arena Complex, Summit County Fairgrounds in Tallmadge. The show will be open to the public!

What better way to learn more about the alpaca industry than to talk to hundreds of breeders and meet their alpacas face-to-face, all under one roof? This is your opportunity. And it’s FREE!

Hours are:

Saturday, November 2 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Sunday, November 3 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Alpacas will be featured in the show ring competition, comprised of classes judging conformation and fleece quality in many categories for both Suri and Huacaya alpacas.

Throughout the weekend, artisans will showcase alpaca fiber and examples of spinning yarn, fiber arts and more. Vendors and farm displays will sell the latest alpaca fashions and hand-crafted items. The public is invited to shop for unique gifts and treasurers throughout the weekend.

This year’s show will once again offer small breeder classes as well as Youth Performance classes, sure to bring laughs and smiles to everyone attending.

Youth Competition

On Saturday, November 2 from 3:30 – 5:00 p.m., youth will take to the ring to compete with their alpacas in showmanship and obstacle classes. Don’t miss your chance to see young participants strut their stuff with their costumed alpaca in an alpaca costume contest on Saturday, November 2 from 12:00 – 12:30 p.m. Costumes will be judged on the comfort of the animal with foreign objects on their head, legs and feet, and how imaginative the costume is as well as the story each participant must write telling about the costume.

About the Buckeye Alpaca Show, Inc.

The Buckeye Alpaca Show, Inc. is celebrating its 20th year as one of the premier alpaca shows in the country. The show is a non-profit 501c3, public charity. In the past 19 years, the show has donated more than $475,000 to programs at Ohio State University - including ICI -- the International Camelid Institute, the Clinical Services Veterinary Fund, and the 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2023 Camelid Veterinary and Owner/Breeder Conferences and the Buckeye Large Animal Veterinary Scholarship Fund.

In 2018, the Buckeye Large Animal Veterinary Scholarship Fund at OSU was established which awards scholarships in $5,000 increments to 3rd and 4th year large animal veterinary students. The Buckeye Alpaca Show has donated $85,000 that was raised at the Live Auctions at the 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 Buckeye Alpaca Fall Fest shows. In December 2023, three more $5,000 scholarships were awarded. This is the first scholarship fund established strictly for large animal veterinary students. For more information visit  www.buckeyealpacafallfest.com/scholarship

The Buckeye Alpaca Fall Fest is a volunteer-managed, non-profit organization which seeks to minimize operating expenses and maximize financial support that can be provided to support education, medicine and scientific research in the Camelid industry. Members strive to operate the show on a profitable basis and to contribute those profits, as well as donations received through fundraising efforts, to support the Camelid Veterinary Conferences and Large Animal Veterinary Scholarships at The Ohio State University for many years to come.

For more information visit www.buckeyealpacashow.com. Click on the logo for the Fall Show to see pages related to this event.