Latest news with #TheGreatGoatGraze-Off
New York Post
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Five hungry goats set to compete in Manhattan in first-ever goat eating competition
Move over Joey Chestnut, there's going to be a new food contest GOAT in town. Five of the stubborn barn yard animals will go horn-to-horn this Saturday for the first-ever competitive eating event involving the barnyard species — and they're all hungry for the new title. 'The Great Goat Graze-Off' is an evolution of the annual Running of the Goats at Riverside Park, which sees the hairy little beasts use their chompers to clear acres of invasive species, like poison ivy and mugwort, from the Manhattan Park. Advertisement 4 This Saturday will mark the first-ever eating competition between goats. Riverside Park Conservancy¿ 'We know that the girls are very excited and they've been practicing — we've heard — getting ready for the big moment this weekend,' Merritt Birnbaum, the CEO and President of the Riverside Park Conservancy, told The Post. 'Really, it's just a taste of what is to come for their summer that they'll be spending in the park with us.' Advertisement The gobbling goat contest will kick off the sixth summer that the four-legged weed whackers are being shipped in from upstate to help clear the grounds. Last year, the conservancy celebrated the start of the grazing season with a literal Running of the Goats, but quickly realized 'running' wasn't really in the animals' nature. 4 The goats will be given pre-prepared bundles of mugwort, an invasive species. Riverside Park Conservancy¿ 'We were thinking about what would really be the best way to welcome them to the park this year, and the idea of letting them do what they do best came to mind,' Birnbaum said, explaining how the eating contest was born. Advertisement And the contest will be just as serious as the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island. The goats will each have their own coaches and counters, much like Chestnut was equipped with when he soared to victory after downing 70.5 glizzies last week. The five goats — Romeo, Mallomar, Butterball, Kash and Rufus — will be given just five minutes to scarf down a pre-prepared bubble of mugwort as a crowd of eager onlookers cheer on their favorites. 4 This will be the sixth summer the goats are shipped in from upstate to help clear the brush from the park. Riverside Park Conservancy¿ George Shea, host of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest and chair of Major League Eating, will be emceeing the blockbuster event. Advertisement It's not yet clear who the favorite is to win the 'The Great Goat Graze-Off — though Birnbaum teased that Kash, a newcomer to Riverside Park, has 'perhaps a stronger jaw than some of the other goats.' 'But that's really just speculation. We know that the goats don't really love to be told what to do, so it's kind of anyone's guess who will triumphing in this,' she continued. 4 'We know that the goats don't really love to be told what to do, so it's kind of anyone's guess who will triumphing in this,' said Merritt Birnbaum. Riverside Park Conservancy¿ 'I think we can expect to witness a world-breaking weed-eating, but unsure what that world record will be.' The five competitors will stick around at Riverside Park for the rest of the summer, munching their way through a two-acre plot at West 143rd Street that every year becomes overtaken with invasive species, like mugwort and poison ivy. The animals are so efficient that in the past that some goats were relieved of their duties and sent home early.
Time Out
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Goats are returning to Riverside Park this summer, with a free graze-off next month
Riverside Park's most beloved (and hungriest) summer staffers are hoofing it back to Harlem for their sixth seasonal residency—and this time, they're kicking things off with a side of showbiz. On Saturday, July 12, the Riverside Park Conservancy will welcome five invasive-plant-gobbling goats back to the West 143rd Street slopes. But before they clock in to clear mugwort, poison ivy and other green pests, they'll face off in an unprecedented battle of the bellies: The Great Goat Graze-Off, New York City's first-ever professional eating competition between goats. Hosted by none other than George Shea of Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest fame, the free event promises 2.5 hours of pure goat-fueled chaos, complete with brass band fanfare from Nice Brass, photo ops with the herd and enough leafy greens to make a vegan jealous. The showdown will take place on the lawn just north of Ten Mile Playground (at West 151st Street and the West Side Highway) from 11 am–1:30 pm. RSVP is encouraged here. This year's roster of ruminant athletes includes returning favorites like Romeo (a total snugglebug) and Mallomar (quiet but mighty), plus flashy newcomer Butterball, regal Rufus and Kash, a cashmere goat with serious model energy. Together, they'll munch through knotweed and kudzu with a level of determination most New Yorkers reserve for rush-hour commuting. Why goats? These four-legged landscapers are cute and crucial. With steep park slopes too treacherous for human crews, goats excel at chewing down hard-to-reach invasive species. They eat constantly, can consume 25% of their body weight in a day and even improve the soil as they go. It's eco-friendly, cost-effective and deeply entertaining. Last year, the herd cleared a particularly gnarly patch near 143rd Street, transforming it from an overgrown jungle into a lush, plantable slope. This summer's work continues that restoration as part of the Conservancy's larger North Park Initiative to revitalize under-resourced areas of the park.
