A trio of alpacas – the animal whose wool was responsible for Saltaire’s prosperity – will join in the village’s World Heritage Site celebrations.

Alpacas Socrates, Hobnob and Bailey, which live at an award-winning Alpaca farm, will join a parade from the Leeds-Liverpool Canal to Salts Mill to mark International World Heritage Day.

Nine painted alpacas, made by community organisations, will also be visible around the village.

A canal boat exhibition showing how Bradford industrialist Sir Titus Salt first used the waterway to bring Alpaca wool to be spun at Salts Mill will also be held as part of the celebrations between Friday, April 15, and Monday, April 18. It will be on board The Kennet, a barge renovated by the Leeds-Liverpool Canal Society.

Rob Martin, chairman of the Saltaire Village Society, said: “Alpacas were of major importance to Saltaire because Sir Titus was one of the first to find a way to spin unwanted alpaca wool after finding it in a Liverpool warehouse. He bought it and made his fortune from it and the money was used to build Saltaire village.

“That is why we thought we would connect the alpacas in a parade between the canal and the mill to let people know how they shaped it.”

World Heritage Day, also known as the International Day for Monuments and Sites, is celebrated on April 18 to raise awareness about the efforts needed to protect and conserve heritage.

It is the first celebration of its type in Saltaire since the model village gained UNESCO World Heritage status in 2001.

The Saltaire celebrations will run in conjunction with other celebrations at Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, Yorkshire’s other World Heritage Site.

As well as the alpaca parade, there will be a cinema organ recital, and a treasure hunt in Roberts Park. What Did Titus do for Us, a performance by actors in period costume, will take place in the Salt Building of Shipley College. There will also be a multi-media presentation featuring images of Saltaire by World Heritage Officer Craig McHugh and exhibitions featuring material from the Saltaire Archives.

Mr McHugh said: “The International World Heritage Celebrations in Saltaire will be a great opportunity for people to learn more about the village’s rich history and see for themselves what makes it such a unique place.