Spring time in Maine! And with any luck it will be more spring-like than winter-like April 8-10, 2011 in Portland Maine.
The meeting, workshops and registration testing will be held at the Clarion Hotel in Portland, Maine. We will be holding testing for registration on Friday and Saturday. There is a special guest speaker planned for Saturday morning. The speaker is a vet who will be talking about Bio Security. It should be very interesting!
A Felted Beret by Leslie Samson workshop is planned for Saturday afternoon. We also have planned a wonderful dinner at the hotel for Saturday evening. The menu will include lobster of course, if anyone is so inclined. For more information regarding the dinner and the luncheon, the menus are included in the latest newsletter.
Saturday Afternoon Workshop:
A Delightfully Easy Angora Beret
Inspired by a recent trip to France, Leslie Samson will show us how to make a fashionable felted beret. We will work with a prepared angora blend. Its quick, easy and adorable! No special skills or tools required. Fee, including materials: $40 Members/$55 non members. If you would like to attend the workshop, please contact Erin Maclean. Fee is payable by check made to IAGARB or by Paypal (paypal [at] iagarb [dot] com). Please sign up as soon as possible in order to grab your spot!
The Annual Meeting and luncheon will be held on Sunday.
Proposed Meeting Schedule:
9:00 am – AGM Reports & Business 12:00 pm Luncheon and Awards 1:00 – 2:00 pm Presentation – History of Angora Rabbits by Leslie Samson
History of Angora Rabbits:
It’s the Year of the Rabbit! What is a rabbit anyway? And where did they come
from? How did Angoras get so hairy? What was the importance of fish in the development of fuzzy rabbits? Were angora rabbits really worshipped as gods in Babylonia? Do German angoras really have 3 types of fibers in their coats where other types can be distinquished by only 2 fiber types?
Leslie Samson will present a time line that will put all of these questions in a useful perspective as we come to understand the evolution, natural behavior and domestication of Oryctolagus cuniculus.
She will include a report on her recent trip to France to visit with angora producers in that country.
