by Riverside Park will host the inaugural “Great Goat Graze-Off” this Saturday, a competitive eating contest featuring five goats
- The quirky event is an evolution of the park’s annual Running of the Goats, part of an initiative to control invasive plant species
- The five competitors — Romeo, Mallomar, Butterball, Kash, and Rufus — will have five minutes to devour a bundle of mugwort, a fast-growing invasive plant
- The contest will kick off the goats’ sixth summer clearing invasive plants from a two-acre area around West 143rd Street
- Merritt Birnbaum, President and CEO of the Riverside Park Conservancy, said the goats have been “practicing” for the event
- Each goat will have its own coach and counter, mimicking the setup of professional eating contests like Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest
- George Shea, the iconic emcee of Nathan’s contest, will host the event
- Kash, a newcomer goat, is speculated to have a competitive edge due to a “stronger jaw”, according to Birnbaum
- The event is expected to draw large crowds eager to see who will be crowned the weed-eating champion
- After the competition, the goats will remain in the park for the summer, naturally managing the park’s mugwort and poison ivy
- In past years, some goats were so efficient they were sent home early after completing their grazing duties
- Birnbaum teased that while the goats may be stubborn, the crowd should expect to witness a “world-breaking weed-eating” performance
The Riverside Park Conservancy hopes the event raises awareness and excitement around the park’s eco-friendly efforts to manage invasive species with the help of their four-legged partners.
