The local club youths are showing 32 llamas at the fair.

The local club youths are showing 32 llamas at the fair.
By KATIE LIBECCO
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CANFIELD -- The Canfield Fair is filled with traditions, but some of them are unconventional -- including the 4-H Llama Costume Contest.
Fifteen children from the Llucky Llama Club and the Mahoning County Llama Club dressed their llamas in costume Saturday afternoon -- and dressed themselves in their own complementing attire -- to compete in the 14th annual Llama Costume Contest.
"Llamas are very smart, very sweet animals. This really teaches the children how to be responsible for something," said Teresa Williams. She's the mother of Brittany Williams, who competed with llama Windy. Both were dressed with grass skirts and leis, as hula girls.
Brittany was able to borrow Windy from Llucky Llamas Farm in Lowellville to compete this year and last, since she lives in an area where she cannot have her own.
Ryan Neiheisel, 12, also competed for his second time this year with his llama, Twister. The pair dressed as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.
He got the idea for the costume after reading the book for school. Ryan, from Columbiana, is home-schooled.
"It was a lot of work making the costumes," Ryan said. "But I'm going to do it again next year."
Ryan said that he thought his llama liked the costume and being shown.
According to the Charlene Arendas of Lowellville, Llucky Llama club's adviser, judges in the costume contest look for creativity, the child's showmanship and for how the llamas react to the costume.
"Llamas have very sensitive feet and faces," Arendas said. "They usually don't like having things touch them at all there. So if a llama has a costume all over and they are still calm, it shows that it has been well-trained."
Debbie Arendas, Charlene's mother and a Llucky Llama adviser, said: "We take a lot of these llamas into nursing homes, so they have to be calm. This is part of the desensitization program for them."
Matti Shahaden and her llama, Madelyn, took first place in the costume contest. Their theme was "Old McDonald," with Madelyn dressed as a farmer on a tractor and Matti as a cow.
Second place went to Samantha Cadman and llama Spellcatcher, who dressed as a fairy and a unicorn.
Kelly Hynes and llama Georgia dressed as a sunflower and a bumble bee to take third place.
Llucky Llamas and the Mahoning County Llama Club are showing 32 llamas at the Canfield Fair this weekend.
A similar Canfield Fair tradition, the Dress-a-Cow Contest, will be held at 1 p.m. today in the South Cattle Complex.
There will also be a 4-H halter and showmanship contest at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the fair in Coliseum 8.