MOUNT PEARL, N.L. --- They’re not ideal painting partners, more muddy than Monet, but a group of adorable goats are behind a sought-after ticket at a pottery and painting studio in Mount Pearl, N.L.
The Clay Café’s painting with goats class, held twice a month, has been selling out for as long as staff can remember since it was first introduced in 2019. The rambunctious and curious animals have become quasi-celebrities for the café’s customers.
“Goats, I just think are extra special,” said Julie Hollett, owner of the animals and Black Label Farm in St. John’s. “They’re silly, but they’re sweet and loving, and it’s just a super cool mixture for sure.”
The regular event began in 2019, at the invitation of Clay Café owner Jamie McCabe. Hollett had already started a yoga-with-goats class and agreed to expand into painting.
“It was a huge hit,” Hollett said. “It’s sold out every week that we book it, and people love it.”
Each of the animals has a unique personality, Hollett said. There’s Butter, the mother of Marg-arine, a miniature breed known as a Nigerian Dwarf; Elmo, a black babydoll sheep that always seems to smile; and Figgy, another Nigerian Dwarf who’s become a fan favourite.
“We always say Figgy is just a special little case,” Hollett said. “He doesn’t have a big lot of thoughts going on. He’s just living his life and he just loves it.”
The goats are quite visible throughout the two-hour class.
They love to jump on any available seat, staff warn, and are quick to home in on any painters holding treats in their hand.
They add a chaotic element to the pottery studio, where precious creations line the studio walls, but staff say they wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We just call ourselves part-time goat wranglers,” said Meghan Bussey, a Clay Café employee.
“They eat sheets, they eat bags, they knock over tiles all the time,” Bussey explained. “They eat boxes, eat our price tags all the time. They’re just running around.”
So far, she said, humans break more of the pottery than the goats. Bussey said the adorable animals haven’t yet broken anything precious.
Bussey and her colleagues field a lot of calls over the run of a week, asking about the goat night and whether tickets are available and when the animals will be back.
The café also hosts other animals — cats and greyhounds — for their own unique events.
Two years later, goat night is still the favourite for Bussey.
“We call it goat therapy,” Bussey said. “For us, it’s our favourite day to work.”
