CANASTOTA — On Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., BMR Acres will welcome guests to join them for many activities for National Alpaca Open Farm Day. There will be free admission.

Visitors can have pictures taken with an alpaca, feed the animals, watch local artisans, shop at local vendor tables and browse through the wonderful items in the Country Farm Store.

Snacks and refreshments will also be for sale. Proceeds benefit the Divine Nature at BMR Acres Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. BMR Acres is located at 2542 Pine Ridge Road.

There will be spinners, felters, knitters, bead work, flint knapping, fly tying and many more crafts. Also many vendors including stamping, Pampered Chef, wood signs, and Tupperware.

Alpacas, cousins to the llama, are intelligent animals native to the Andean Mountain range of South America, particularly Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. The United States first commercially imported alpacas in 1984. There are now over 150,000 registered alpacas in North America.

There are two types of alpacas in the United States today. Although almost physically identical, what distinguishes the two types of alpacas is their fiber. The Huacaya (wa-Ki'-ah) is the more common of the two and has a fluffy, extremely fine coat. The Suri is the rarer of the two and has fiber that is silky and resembles pencil-locks.

Adult alpacas stand at approximately 36 inches at the withers and generally weigh between 150 and 200 pounds.