Sold-out crowd attends goat role-playing event in Redding

Kaza Ayersman, of Meridian as the character "Fifel Featherbottom" and Momo O'Brien, of Toronto, Canada, as the character "Briar of Ridden-helm" attended the Goat LARP hosted by Farm Jibe-IT on Saturday. The event is live action role playing for goats, where people wore costumes and included the goats in their stories. June 15, 2019, in Redding, Conn. less Kaza Ayersman, of Meridian as the character "Fifel Featherbottom" and Momo O'Brien, of Toronto, Canada, as the character "Briar of Ridden-helm" attended the Goat LARP hosted by Farm Jibe-IT on Saturday. The ... more Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media Buy photo Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 51 Caption Close Sold-out crowd attends goat role-playing event in Redding 1 / 51 Back to Gallery

REDDING —A sold-out crowd came out to Jibe-iT goat farm on Saturday for the first ever Goat LARP.

At the LARP, which stands for live action role playing, visitors wore costumes and played out fictional stories starring the goats.

“When we sold out, I was ecstatic,” said Dan Comstock, one of the organizers. “I was actually at another LARP, and when I announced we had sold out, everybody cheered and clapped for us.”

The event capped at 100 people, but Comstock estimates the actual attendance was closer to 120 with staff and other people.

Comstock said he initially wasn’t sure if the event would sell out because it’s “such a unique experiment.” He said the biggest challenge has been convincing people it wasn’t a joke. He said the goal was to break even. Tickets were $45 each and included the games, meal and a bonfire.

“For us it's not about the money, it's about creating a memorable experience people will talk about for years,” he said. “It turns out we are in the black, so that gives us some resources to design our next LARP event.”

Comstock said they will definitely return if Saturday’s event is a success.

“If the event goes well, there will definitely be a Goat LARP 2 — when the goats level up,” he said. “But I'm trying not to think about the long term goals until we've got a successful event under our belt.”

He said he hopes everyone has a good time and get great pictures.

“A lot of the live action RPGs in this region are very complicated and intense, and we are hoping we can show people a much lighter way to play with each other,” Comstock said. “That's part of what's exciting to me — it's 2019, we are pioneering new ways to have fun.”

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