The Goats Are Returning To Riverside Park: This Time With A Festival

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — In what's becoming one of the Upper West Side most loved neighborhood summer traditions, the Riverside Park goats will be returning to the community in July.

The Riverside Park Conservancy's weed-eating goats will return on July 7 to their usual spot clearing invasive plants from the slopes of woodland between 119th and 122nd streets in the park.

“We are so excited for the return of the goats this summer,” said Merritt Birnbaum, President and CEO of Riverside Park Conservancy, in a news release. “They’re not only adorable weed-eaters, they’re also representatives of the sustainable practices the Conservancy embraces in all aspects of our work."

However, there will be a change in the goat's introduction to the park for their fourth year.

Instead of running through the park like past years, the goats will be unveiled in a new three-hour festival with vendor booths, goat-themed merchandise, photo-ops, arts and crafts, and more at West 95th Street adjacent to the West Side Highway.

The event will also feature a ribbon chewing ceremony for the Conservancy's new Compost Compound at the location.

The goats remaining in the park this summer are named Cowgirl, Chico, Charlie, and Mallomar.

You can RSVP to the festival on July 7 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its event's page — HERE.

“These gardeners definitely goat talent!" Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine said in a news release. "It’s a pleasure to welcome Manhattan’s newest four-legged residents, champions of composting and sustainability."