This Lithuanian Goat Pageant Is the Most Joyous Thing We’ve Seen Today

The world is kind of a mess at the moment, and it’s almost impossible to go online these days without being inundated with upsetting news. So if you need a break from streaming stress, have we got a gift for you: this brief but ridiculously wonderful footage of the seventh annual Top Goat contest in Ramygala, Lithuania.

The contest is exactly what it sounds like, but it’s so much more than that, too. There are the townsfolk and goats dressed in traditional folk costumes. There’s the brass band of men in polo shirts. There’s the panel of judges: one politician, one school official, and one cucumber farmer. And then there are the prizes, which include cake, jars of honey, and a voucher for a free haircut.

It’s a dreamy, magical scene, one that is as charming to Ramygala citizens as it is to us. “It’s as if we were in a fairy tale,” one attendee said.

This year’s crown—and yes, there is a literal goat crown—went to a winsome young white lady goat named Demyte, or “little spot.” The show marks Demyte’s pageant debut, but her owner, retired veterinarian Ferdinandas Petkevicius, has been trying for years. Like any stage mom, Petkevicius kept fussing over details long after his girl had been crowned. "The only thing we didn't do to prepare the goat for the pageant is we didn't polish its nails—because we thought of it too late,” Petkevicius told Reuters. Demyte had no comment. It's kind of hard to tell with goats, but she seemed content.

Header image from YouTube // News Update

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