Annual Open Farm Day and Fiber Fest!

JOIN US FOR OUR ANNUAL
OPEN FARM DAY AND FIBER FEST!

Rain or Shine

Saturday & Sunday, September 24 & 25, 2011
10:00am - 4:00pm EST

This year's open house will be even bigger and better than ever! We've engaged our 4-H troop to help out, and there will definitely be something for everyone!

We invite you to come out and enjoy a day on the farm!

• 4-H Sign-Up!!!!
  We're looking for more kids to join our exciting 4-H alpaca club! We will be signing up new members both days. Our obstacle course will be set up and we will have experienced members helping new recruits! This will be fun for both the kids & the adults!
  
  
• Alpaca Demonstrations
  Our 4-H troop will be doing demonstrations throughout the weekend, showcasing what they can do with the alpacas.
  
  
• Breeding Seminars
  We will be conducting hands-on seminars throughout the weekend. We will discuss alpaca breeding and ownership, as well as explaining the differences between huacayas and suris. It's a great opportunity to get hands-on experience at a working alpaca farm.
  
  
• Fiber-Arts Demonstrations
  We will be demonstrating the process of skirting and sorting alpaca fiber for processing. We will also explain the different grades of alpaca fiber, and the appropriate uses of each.
  
  
• Soap-Felting Demonstrations
  Alpaca isn't just for luxury clothing. It's also a natural exfoliant. Stop by and let us show you one of the lesser-known uses for this luxury fiber!
  
  
• Aniaml-Assisted Therapy
  Ms. Tracey Klein will be on hand to discuss the use of alpacas as therapeutic animals. These sweet and gentle creatures are a natural stress-reliever. If you know somebody who could use their therapy, bring them by so that Tracey can share their warm stories and introduce them to the world of alpacas.
  
  
• Greener Gardens with Alpaca Manure
  Alpaca manure is one of the best natural fertilizers for vegetable gardens and plants. Because of the lower organic matter content than manures of most other livestock, the manure can be placed directly on your plants without the risk of "burning". Alapca manure improves the soil texture and has excellent waterholding capacity.
  
  
• Fiber, Fiber, Fiber Everywhere
  We have raw fiber, rovings, and yarn in a large array of colors, natural and dyed, in both suri and huacaya fiber. "Stuff a Bag" open house special.
  
  
• Unadvertised specials on quality breeding stock!
  2011 has been a banner year for Criative Acre's breeding program. We have reached our goals in terms of quality and number of alpacas. With many new cria on the way, we are in a position to release some of our foundation herd at unbelievably low prices. These are high-quality alpacas that have served us well over the years, and represent a tremendous value for new breeders!
  
  
• 4-H Quality Males
  We will also be selling some of our high-quality 4-H males. These are very nice males. They just didn't meet the breeding standards here at Criative Acres. They are easy to handle and have been used in our 4-H program. They have also been used in obstacle courses.
  
  

Feel free to stop by and take pictures. We look forward to sharing our farm with you.

Happy Alpaca Breeding!

John & Renee Petersam
Criative Acres Alpacas
Jarrettsville, MD

Crias!

We went to the farm to get ready for International Alpaca Day and guess what we discovered????

Clearing rocks and weeds from the pasture.

 

 

 

 

Oh Baby! (Cria)

Welcome Baby Caesar!

Welcome Baby Patriot!  Born on 9/11

1 day old

What a wonderful addition to this growing family of friends.

Peace Celebration at Mattie J.T. Stepanek's Park

                                                            For Our World

 Alpacas for Peace came out to participate in a "Peace Party" and to remember the words written by Mattie J.T. Stepanek on September 11, 2001 in a poem he wrote titled "For Our World."

Alpacas for Peace

 We started the day bright and early by setting up the stations for the party.

 These stations included a carding station.  Guests learned how to card a "peace" of fiber by using special brushes to smooth out and pull each "peace"  into a longer "peace" termed "roving."

Using a drop spindle made out of recycled items, guests learned how to spin the fiber.

Guest learned all about the two types of Alpacas, the Suri and the Huacaya.  They got to feel the difference between the alpaca's fiber and a sheep's fiber.  

Guests had the opportunity to learn all about alpacas as a pet partner in Animal Assisted Therapy.  Many of the guest were able to interact with the alpacas through the use of assistive technology devices.  These included voice output devices, symbols, sign language videos on the ipad and environmental control units.

Before the party started we got to talk to Jeni (Mattie's Mom) and take a photo of our entire team with Mattie's Statue.

The Alpacas were ready to greet the guests...

and then the rain came!

as Mattie said "Remember to Play after every Storm!"

 

 and so everyone began to play, play in a way that made them feel happy!

if you look at the ordinary closely you can always find the extraordinary

and make that your Heartsong!    

So the party started...

and everyone had something to share

or learn

all about alpacas and their peaceful ways.

Friends used a switch attached to a spinner to tell the Alpaca what they would like to see them do in the obstacle course.

These Twins got to "read" Mattie's poem by activating the switch.  There were big smiles and Mattie's message recorded with his own voice was shared with children of all ages.

This friend got to walk Cosmo "around" the cones.

        

This friend got to "run" with Cosmo.  These directional words were selected by their friends using the spinner to give directions to each other. 

We think this was love at first sight....

because Cosmo gave kiss

after kiss

and she even had him eating right out of her hand.

 

Her companion dog was just as interested in the items made out of alpaca fiber as she was.  Who can resist?

Throughout the day, new friendships were formed.

and the volunteers got to share many laughs.

Great friends of Jeni and Mattie made the day extra special by sharing their gifts. This is Diane who along with Mattie had always been curious to find out if "Alpacas poop in piles?"

Diane hand picked each and every one of these rocks and gave them each a letter.  The party guests placed them into words of peace.

and the Alpacas finally answered Mattie and Diane's question... YES they do,  Alpacas poop in piles.  By the way alpaca poop is so healthy for the environment, gardeners and farmers love it!

The end of the party came much to quickly and during closing ceremonies we heard Mattie's poem For Our World read in Chinese by Jyun Yuan and then in Mattie's own voice while being signed in American Sign Language (ASL.)

John and Tracey Klein (mom and dad to Jyun Yuan) had a very proud moment and an affirmation as to why they followed their dreams to open Simple Faith Farm.

Alana celebrating her 13th Birthday by volunteering at the Peace Party and finding her Heartsong.

  

Peace is possible and it is in each in every one of us.