“I saw the signs for it all over town,” rising senior Allison Laufenberg said of the advertisements for Movies with Goats around Chapel Hill. “It sounded weird yet intriguing, so I thought I should check it out.”
Spring Haven Farm, which hosts Movies with Goats every Friday and Saturday night, is home to 19 baby goats, which have become the central focus of many of the farm’s events.
The Chapel Hill farm was originally launched by owner Andrew Crihfield and his wife 20 years ago with horseback riding lessons. The establishment has since become a local attraction that provides a variety of lessons and tickets to special events.
“Spring Haven Farm has a mission to build community through agriculture,” Crihfield said. “We focus on what we call Agritainment.”
Patrons can purchase tickets to Movies with Goats for ten dollars each to attend a screening of a movie while meeting the farm’s goats. Each weekend features a “date night” on Friday and a “family night” on Saturday, determining the genre of movie to be shown.
Crihfield added that “popularity of the movie plays a huge role in the deciding factor.”
The movie screenings were held for the first time in June and will continue until September 15.
“The overall vibe was just one of peace and happiness,” Laufenberg said. “It was better than therapy!”
Concessions including popcorn, soda and other snacks are available at a stand near the farm’s entrance. Treats to feed the farm’s various animals are also offered for purchase.
“People seem to be really connecting with the goats more than most of the other animals,” Crihfield said. “The goats are the largest draw by far.”
In addition to hosting Movies with Goats, Spring Haven Farm offers occasional goat yoga classes and sells goat-a-grams, gifts that involve Crihfield or another member of the farm’s team delivering a bouquet of flowers and a goat, available for a 30-minute visit, to a customer’s doorstep.
The farm’s website describes goat-a-grams as “perfect for birthdays, valentines, retirement, dates or just a spontaneous, fun gift!”
Spring Haven Farm also hosted goat pumpkin-carving parties last fall.
Crihfield said that of the events hosted at the farm, he has no favorite. “They each have something special we can share with our guests,” he said.
