Utah pigeon owners prepare to show off their birds at major show this weekend

GRANTSVILLE, Utah — There are a lot of different birds with which to fall in love, but Ralph Lewis met his dream bird when he found the Classic Frill pigeon.

"It's just such a beautiful bird and I've come to admire many of the other breeds as I've gone out there, but I just don't have room to have 10 different breeds," Lewis said.

Luckily for him, there's an event this Friday and Saturday where he can admire all the pigeon breeds he doesn't have room to keep: The Utah Pigeon Club's Salt Lake Premier Pigeon Show.

"It's a big deal. We have probably 1,300 to 1,500 different birds out there and I would say probably most of the 100 different breeds will be represented in various exhibits," Lewis said. "Each of us put in our best birds that we have raised that year or raised over the last two, three, four years and compete for these wonderful awards."

For Lewis, it was his first award that got him hooked on the pigeon hobby, but now it's about so much more.

"My favorite part of the hobby is watching the babies grow from the egg being laid to hatching out in just 19 days to being a fully-fledged and flying bird in just six weeks," he said.

Lewis hopes others will come to the Salt Lake Premier Pigeon Show to experience the thrill of the frill and the dozens of other pigeons for themselves.

"The exhibit I've put up here with the pictures and so on is to attract even other breeders that might attend the show to recognize the beauty of the Classic Frill the way I do," he said.

The show is happening Friday and Saturday in Grantsville at the Deseret Peak Complex. The address is 2930 UT-112. Admission is free to the public.

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