'Name the Alpaca' CONTEST...at Pat A Lamb weekend 2 + 3 May
Come rain or shine, over 200 visitors visited Mount Ephraim Gardens on Bank Holiday Monday to pat a lamb, see Birds of Prey and to ‘Name an Alpaca’, which resulted in over 250 suggestions for the competition including the names: ‘David Cameron’, ‘Cleggy’ and ‘Gordon’.
Despite the heavy downpours on Sunday, lots of people braved the blustery weather, pulled on their wellies and waterproofs, determined to make the most of their Bank Holiday Monday. Marketing and Events Coordinator for Mount Ephraim Claire Francis said:
“The immense success of our Pat A Lamb event on Monday certainly made up for the terrible weather that forced us to close on Sunday”. She says: “The Lambs are always a popular attraction for this annual event but this was the first year we have ever had other animal attractions for our Pat A Lamb weekend.”
The alpaca naming competition to give permanent names to 6 of the 18 alpacas now living at Mount Ephraim Gardens was set up by Marketing and Events Coordinator Claire Francis in conjunction with one of the owners of the alpacas, Sarah Martin. Sarah says: “We are lucky to have so many brilliant entries it will be difficult to choose between them all but we were very surprised to see so many names of politicians!"
Entrant, Claire Constable from Gillingham named Alpaca number 3 ‘Gordon’ “After our illustrious Leader” whilst Brian from South Rd in Faversham gave “supercilious” Alpaca Number 6 the name: “David Cameron”.
Blythe Sullivan, age 3 from Herne Bay says Alpaca number 5 should be called “Grandad” because “if it had glasses on it would look like Grandad”.
Elanor and Chloe Tester, both aged 4 from Oare, near Faversham gave Alpaca number 2 the name “Toothy” because “His teeth are popping out.”
Phoebe Harris from Faversham says Alpaca Number 1 should be called “Mirabug” because “I have a toy alpaca from Peru called Mirabug and he's made from Alpaca wool!”.
The furry and feathered fun included cuddly sock lambs by the Miz Maze, the alpacas and a guest appearance from Hawklands Bird of Prey Centre based at Farming World. Visitors got the chance to see the first Bird of Prey flight demonstration ever to be held at Mount Ephraim Gardens, which whilst hampered by the strong winds, but did not fail to impress. The fun and interactive display also included Fluffy Baby Eagles for all to enjoy.
thank you all for your fabulous suggestions!
The competition winner was Miss Amy Hanson of South Road in Faversham. Well done Amy!
A Family Season Ticket 2010 will be sent to you shortly. Amy and her family can enjoy unlimited visits to Mount Ephraim and seasonal events such as Cherry Day on Saturday 3 July and Apple Sunday on 12 September.
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