Photo by Deb Gau 4-H member Addie Odegaard and her llama got a good reaction from the crowd during Friday’s llama costume contest at the Lyon County Fair. Addie had dressed her llama as a bath loofah, complete with a working bubble machine.

dgau@marshallindependent.com

MARSHALL — A crowd had gathered at the 4-H arena on Friday to watch a different kind of animal show — a fashion show.

One by one, 4-H members entered the show ring, leading llamas and alpacas dressed in unique costumes. Addie Odegaard’s llama was decked out like a bath loofah, with his body covered in crinkly blue fabric and a working bubble machine strapped to his back. Odegaard had coordinated by wearing a long robe and tying her hair up in a towel.

The best part of being in the 4-H llama costume contest at the Lyon County Fair, Odegaard said, “Is getting to show (the costume) off to people, and seeing what other people’s costumes are.”

Creativity was a big part of the costume contest. 4-H and Cloverbuds members worked to come up with outfits for about a dozen llamas and alpacas.

“A lot of families did it together,” said Mary Beth Sinclair of the Lyon County 4-H llama project. Groups of kids and adults worked to create the costumes, and try to get the llamas dressed.

“I sewed some of it, but I had some help,” Lucy Odegaard said of her llama’s costume. For the show, Lucy was dressed like a pirate, while her llama was wearing a bright red parrot costume.

It can be a complicated task to put clothes on a llama, 4-H members said.

“It depends on which llama it is,” Addie Odegaard said. Some were more relaxed about wearing costumes than others, she said. “And a lot of them don’t like having their feet lifted up or their head touched.”

Odegaard said getting the bubble machine securely strapped to her llama’s back was a challenge.

“This probably took 20 minutes to put on,” she said.

Camden Lugar and his family estimated that it took around 40 minutes to get their llama, Dolly, into costume before the show. But their work paid off. Camden and Nevi Lugar, along with Dolly, won a ribbon with their senior citizen costumes.

To help keep their animals cool, several contestants waited until right before the show to put the finishing touches on their costumes.

Once they were in the show ring, the llama costumes got plenty of positive audience reactions. The crowd clapped and laughed when Reagan and Kezlynn Braithwaite led a llama styled like a 1980s rock musician – complete with a leather vest, wig and sunglasses – into the ring.

“A lot of the clothes came from Goodwill, and some of it we got online,” Reagan Braithwaite said of the costumes.

“It was fun, but then it was a little stressful,” Annsleigh Wisdom said of being in the costume show. She said the nervousness came from when her llama, who was dressed up to look like a UPS delivery van, ripped part of his costume.

Alec Porter and Lamara Wisdom said they liked just being in the show. The two kids were walking with a llama in costume as a chocolate chip cookie. Porter was in costume as a carton of milk, while Wisdom was a baker.

“It’s kind of fun to dress up as a milk carton,” Porter said.

“It’s fun to walk the llamas and alpacas,” Wisdom said.