A Celebration of Goats, Now a Tradition on Arkansas’s Tourism Map
Perryville will host the eighth annual Arkansas Goat Festival on October 4, celebrating goats, music, food, and community with thousands of visitors expected.
Perryville, a small town in the Little Rock metropolitan area, is getting ready to host its biggest tourism event of the year, the Arkansas Goat Festival. Now in its eighth year, the celebration is set for Saturday, October 4, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Perryville City Park.
As a tribute to goats, the festival highlights both the animals and the community spirit with a mix of programs and live music. Visitors can look forward to goat-themed vendors, a goat costume contest, a goat lingerie show, and even a goat au naturel parade.
Families will have plenty to enjoy, including a children’s petting area, inflatables, face painting, and an obstacle course. The festival is free and open to all, whether you bring a goat or come just to enjoy the festivities.
A Growing Tradition
The Arkansas Goat Festival, launched in 2016, is still a relatively new event, but its popularity is rapidly turning it into a signature celebration for Perryville, a small town of just 1,300 residents with few other major attractions. What began as a modest community gathering has grown into an event that now helps define the town’s identity. Each year, visitors from across the region travel to Perryville to join the festivities. Attendance has risen from about 1,200 spectators in the first year, roughly the town’s population, to nearly 10,000 in 2024, with more than 10,000 expected in 2025.
If the festival continues its current momentum, it could soon join the ranks of other unique regional celebrations, such as Idaho’s Trailing of the Sheep Festival or North Carolina’s Woolly Worm Festival, giving locals, visitors, and area businesses a special reason to celebrate every October.
The Goat City
As the Arkansas Goat Festival generates revenue for Perryville, it has inspired the city to adopt the goat theme year-round. Perryville City Park now features a “Goat Park,” where children can play and residents can bring goats to roam freely. According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas, Perryville is the only town in the United States with a designated municipal goat park.
If the organizers and town officials plan carefully, they could introduce more projects in the city, turning Perryville into a destination for both goat enthusiasts and festival visitors.
Events in the Eighth Edition
The eighth edition of the Arkansas Goat Festival will feature two stages, one dedicated to music and the other to events. On the music stage, performances begin with Hill Street Blues Band at 10 a.m., followed by The Boomers at 11:45 a.m., The Rusty Roosters at 1 p.m., and Howard and Skye at 3:15 p.m.
The event stage offers a full lineup of activities throughout the day. It starts with a question and answer session with the University of Arkansas Dardanelle Cooperative Extension System at 10 a.m., followed by a goat au naturel parade at 11 a.m., a goat costume contest at noon, a goat costume parade at 1 p.m., a goat lingerie show at 2 p.m., and a goat care presentation hosted by Celia Bell at 3 p.m. While pre-registration is encouraged for those who wish to participate in the events, it is not required. Every pre-registered goat receives a thank-you gift, with additional prizes awarded for participation in the costume contest or lingerie show.
This year, more than 140 vendors will take part, along with 24 food trucks offering everything from barbecue to catfish. Organizers have posted a detailed schedule on their website to help visitors plan their day.
