Photo courtesy of 2 Kids Goat Farm
You love goats. You love how they bleat as they greet you. You love how frisky and friendly and sometimes naughty they are. They nibble the buttons on your shirt and climb all over you and your car and clamor for your attention.
You also love goat milk and goat milk cheeses: crumbly chèvre spread on a bagel, feta crumbled on a salad, halloumi fried or grilled as an appetizer.
Yup. Goat Fest!
The family friendly celebration of goats and community is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It will include a petting zoo and other activities for children, live entertainment and a "pop-up" marketplace featuring local produce, baked goods, pastured meats, maple syrup, craft beer, hard cider, coffee, wine, plants and more (members of the local 4-H will be selling milkshakes). There is no admission charge and all are invited to attend.
Participating vendors include (but are not limited to) Main Street Farms, Drover Hill Farm, Crazy Daisies Flower Farm, Side Hill Farmers Meats and Market, Critz Farm/Harvest Moon Cidery, Local 315 Brewing Company, Vinomania, Simple Roast Coffee, Half Moon Bakery and Bistro and others.
The Sperats started small, with just a few goats (mostly Nubians and Alpines) and learned how to milk them by watching YouTube videos. They quickly learned how to make cheese, beginning with their signature Plain Jane chèvre. Before long, they started adding mix-ins, like black peppercorns, garlic and chive, cranberries and pumpkin.
The 2 Kids herd now numbers about 50 and they're milking about 30, Barry says -- twice a day, every day. Recent additions include two dairy cows, so they can make cow's milk cheeses, as well. Barry makes the cheese -- which has expanded beyond chèvre to include feta, halloumi, cheese curds, farmers cheese and special varieties like Finnaberg, a goat milk cheese made in a fashion similar to cheddar and Amy Lynne, which Barry calls a "wine-soaked drunken goat cheese.''
Amy, meanwhile, is responsible for the 2 Kids line of personal care products, which includes goat milk soaps, lotions and balms. She recently started making liquid soap in addition to the bar soaps. Just as goat milk is favored by people who are lactose sensitive or intolerant, goat milk soaps and lotions are are favored by people with eczema, psoriasis and other skin sensitivity issues. (My own sensitive skin responds favorably to the Plain Jane bar soap, a good value at $4 each, or three bars for $10.)
But back to the goats. They are the big draw for Sunday's event and will be out for everyone to see -- and pet. The Sperats are expecting a crowd of about 500, which is no problem for goats. The more people, the more goat love.
"Goats are very social animals,'' Barry says. "They all have names, and they all know their names. They love people.''
On Sunday, be sure to bring a cooler (for possible purchases) and wear good shoes for walking.
"People can interact with the animals, walk to the top of the hill and see the gorgeous view and sample cheeses and other foods,'' Barry said last week. "We'll have a blast.''
Goat Fest, hosted by 2 Kids Goat Farm, runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 2). The farm is at 682 Cowles Settlement Road, Cuyler. For more information, call 315-447-3364. WEBSITE FACEBOOK
Can't make it to Goat Fest on Sunday? Look for 2 Kids Goat Farm products at the Downtown Syracuse Farmers Market (Tuesdays), Fayetteville Farmers Market (Thursdays) and at Side Hill Farmers Meats and Market, in Manlius.
Cheese and crackers, with 2 Kids Goat Farm black pepper chèvre
I HAD SUCH A GREAT TIME TODAY AT THE GOATFEST!-LOVE MY lAVENDER GOATS MILK BODY LOTION...CHEESE CURDS ARE DELISCIOUS-BOUGHT BASIC GOAT CHEESE CURDS-WISH I HAD BOUGHT THE HAND SOAP...EVERY ONE WAS SO NICE...AND A BEAUTIFUL DAY FOR A DRIVE.
Posted by: margery dardano | 08/02/2015 at 08:24 PM