What's good for the goose? A statue trend that's flocking to St. John's
Goostav is owned by Adrienne Ding and Matt Wheeler. He has over 30 different outfits. (Maddie Ryan/CBC)
Goostav isn't like other geese. He wears clothes, lives on a porch in downtown St. John's and also made of concrete.
The 60-pound painted goose has celebrity status on his street because of his constantly changing flashy outfits. He belongs to Adrienne Ding and Matt Wheeler, and is part of a wide network of "porch geese" across North America.
A porch goose is an ornamental bird that sits outside on a porch in a seasonal — or just plain stylish — outfit.
The trend is big in the United States and southern Ontario, Ding told CBC News. But thanks to the internet, more porch geese are flocking to Atlantic Canada.
"A friend of mine growing up, her mom had a goose on their front porch and she brought it over from Ontario to Alberta," said Ding. "I just grew up dressing up the goose, so I've always wanted one and finally got one."
Her partner, Wheeler, says obtaining Goostav was quite the exciting ordeal. Ding ordered a custom concrete goose from Halifax, and traveled there to drive him back home to St. John's.
Ding said she realizes now she could have ordered the goose from the local PineTree Manufacturing in Conception Bay South. But, she said, the journey was worth it.
Matt Wheeler and Adrienne Ding have a range of creative costumes for their goose, including a Prince outfit. (Maddie Ryan/CBC)
Honk, honk, fashion, baby
But another local concrete goose came from that business.
Beth Brophy's porch pal, Gooseface Killah, is a star in her neighbourhood. She says people often stop outside her house to take pictures with the fowl.
"There's so much sadness in the world. Just dress up a goose and put it in your front yard and it will make you so happy," said Brophy.
Gooseface Killah is ready for school with a Harry Potter-themed Hogwarts uniform, but some of Brophy's favourite outfits include a nutcracker for Christmas and a pink Barbie cowgirl look.
Creativity is key when it comes to dressing a goose, said Ding and Wheeler.
Wheeler said his mother often makes outfits for Goostav or the couple will find different pieces at thrift stores to add to the wardrobe, which now holds over 30 different looks. This summer, their Shania Twain costume was a hit on social media.
"Adrienne actually had that custom-made for the goose," said Wheeler. "She reached out to a company in the U.S. and a woman who makes these costumes ended up making another dozen of them."
Gooseface Killah is Beth Brophy's goose. She was inspired to join the trend after stumbling upon an American Facebook group full of well-dressed geese. (Maddie Ryan/CBC)
A community effort
Brophy said owning a porch goose is about bringing joy to the community, both on her street or on the internet.
The Porch Goose Club of America group on Facebook has over 85,000 members. Brophy is one of them.
"The goose community is honestly the nicest corner of the internet you could ever find. It's untarnished by politics or any sort of socioeconomic disruption," she said. "Everybody's happy for everybody's goose."
The same goes for Ding, Wheeler and Goostav.
"We're just happy that something so simple can bring so much joy to people," Ding said. "The amount of neighbours and tourists that we see, that get excited for it, always makes us happy as well. We certainly hope that more people get into the goose trend in town."
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