Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie And Eric Evans.
Hi Katie and Eric, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Our story actually started with a movie night and a bunch of alpacas!
Back in 2021, Eric was hosting movie nights at his farm. He had alpacas and this dream of creating a place where people could come out, spend time with the animals, and just enjoy being there. I decided to go to one of his movie nights, and little did I know I was about to meet my future husband!
At the time, we were both at very different places in our lives. I had two daughters, ages eight and twenty, and Eric was a widower raising his daughter. He had built a successful landscaping and hardscaping business, but after losing his wife a few years earlier, he wanted to spend more time with his daughter and focus on the farm. He and his parents had already put so much love and hard work into the property, building fences and creating spaces for the alpacas.
Eric and I fell in love pretty quickly. During that time, I was working from home and caring for my mother, who had stage 4 leukemia and was in hospice. She passed away in December 2021, and Eric was such a huge source of support for me through that. After she passed, I moved to the farm, set up my home office, and continued working remotely for a marketing company.
I’ve always been a creative person. I definitely get that from my mom, who was an incredible artist. I had always dreamed about having my own business, and suddenly here I was, living on this beautiful farm with someone who had the entrepreneurial experience to actually make things happen. Eric had the farm and the vision, and I had about a million ideas of what we could do with it!
Unfortunately, life threw us another heartbreaking loss. In January 2022, just a month after losing my mom, Eric’s mother passed away unexpectedly from COVID. It was an incredibly difficult time for both of us. We were falling in love and building a life together, but we were also grieving the loss of two women who meant so much to us.
Then, on Mother’s Day that year, Eric surprised me with four baby goats.
I don’t think either of us could have imagined how much those four little goats would change our lives. They were funny, affectionate, mischievous, and just impossible not to smile around. We were going through so much sadness, and somehow these tiny animals brought so much happiness back into our days. They certainly didn’t make the grief disappear, but they gave us something to laugh about and look forward to.
That’s really where Goat Yoga RVA started.
We thought, wouldn’t it be fun to share this with other people? So we got six more baby goats and decided, what the heck, let’s try a goat yoga class!
Of course, neither of us really knew what we were getting ourselves into. We went through probably 15 to 20 yoga instructors trying to find the right fit. We didn’t just want someone who could teach yoga. We wanted instructors who genuinely loved animals, had a great sense of humor, and understood that sometimes the goats were going to steal the show!
Our very first class had 80 people show up. EIGHTY! We were absolutely blown away.
What started as four little goats bringing some much-needed happiness into our lives had suddenly turned into something we could share with so many other people. And it just kept growing.
Today, Pactamere Farm is home to Goat Yoga RVA, goat cuddles, creative workshops, private parties, and all kinds of seasonal events. It’s also become this amazing creative outlet for me. I teach painting classes and wreath-making workshops, and I’m constantly coming up with new ideas. Eric is usually the one figuring out how we’re actually going to make those ideas happen!
Looking back, I think that’s what makes this whole journey so special. Neither of us could have predicted that a movie night, a few alpacas, and four baby goats would lead us here. We’ve built a business, but more importantly, we’ve built something together that we truly love. And getting to share that with other people makes it even better.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think our biggest challenges came before we even officially started the business.
When Eric and I met, we had both already been through some difficult things. Eric had lost his wife a few years earlier, and then within a month of each other, we lost both of our mothers. It was a lot of heartbreak in a very short amount of time.
We were trying to build a new life together while also figuring out how to move forward after those losses.
I think that’s part of why the animals became so important to us. Those first four baby goats brought laughter back into our lives when we really needed it. They gave us a reason to get outside, enjoy the little things, and just be happy in the moment.
Once we decided to turn that experience into a business, there was definitely a learning curve!
One of our first challenges was finding yoga instructors who understood what we were trying to create. Goat yoga isn’t exactly your traditional, peaceful yoga class. You might have a goat climbing onto your back, nibbling your hair, or deciding your yoga mat is the perfect place for a nap!
We needed instructors who could laugh along with everyone and genuinely enjoy the animals as much as we did.
Another challenge has been finding a balance between home life and work, especially since we live and work together. There’s always something that needs to be done on the farm, and it can be hard to turn off the business side of our lives and just enjoy being a couple or spending time with our family.
Eric and I are also complete opposites in some ways. I’m a crazy optimist with a million ideas, and Eric is more of a realist. I’ll be dreaming up our next adventure while he’s thinking through what it will actually take to make it happen!
We’ve learned that those differences are one of our biggest strengths. That balance allows our business to grow and evolve without taking on more than we can realistically manage. I encourage him to imagine the possibilities, and he helps me turn those possibilities into something that works.
And like any small business, there’s always something unexpected happening. When you’re working with animals, you learn pretty quickly that not everything is going to go according to plan!
But I think that’s also part of what makes the farm special. We’ve learned to be flexible, laugh at ourselves, and figure things out together. We’ve had our share of difficult days, but I wouldn’t trade what we’ve built for anything.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Pactamere Farm is so much more than just goat yoga, although that’s definitely how a lot of people first discover us!
We’re located in Glen Allen, Virginia, just outside of Short Pump, and we’ve created a place where people can come unplug, have fun, spend time with animals, and make some really special memories.
We offer Goat Yoga RVA classes, goat cuddles, private parties, painting and wreath-making workshops, and seasonal events throughout the year. I especially love coming up with new experiences for families and friends to enjoy together.
One of my favorite things about the farm is seeing how people react to the animals. You can have someone arrive who’s had the most stressful week, and five minutes later they’re sitting on the ground with a baby goat in their lap and the biggest smile on their face.
It’s pretty hard to stay in a bad mood when a goat is trying to climb into your lap!
Something that’s very important to me is that people understand our animals aren’t just here for entertainment. They all have their own personalities, likes, dislikes, and funny little quirks. Some absolutely love attention, and others would rather do their own thing, and that’s okay!
I want people to appreciate them as individuals and understand the importance of treating animals with kindness, compassion, and respect.
We’re also working toward expanding our educational animal experiences. We’ve recently welcomed Ozzy, our baby wallaby; Andi, our capybara; and Patty, our Patagonian mara. Getting to know their personalities has been such a joy, and we’re excited about the opportunity to help people learn about them through experiences built around connection, understanding, and compassion, with the animals’ well-being always coming first.
At the end of the day, I hope people leave our farm feeling a little happier than when they arrived. Whether they came for a yoga class, a family outing, or just to cuddle a baby goat, I want them to feel like they experienced something special. And hopefully they’ll come back to visit us again!
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that when you love what you do, things you never imagined possible start to feel within reach. There are hard days and good days, but even on the hard days, there’s something that reminds me why we started. It might be hearing everyone laughing during a goat yoga class or going to an assisted living facility and seeing someone in memory care who rarely speaks or participates in activities light up when a baby goat is placed in their arms. Suddenly, they’re talking about their childhood and sharing memories. Getting to witness that connection is something that stays with you.
Loving what we do doesn’t make every part of it easy, but it gives us a reason to keep trying, learning, and finding a way forward. Sometimes I look around at what Eric and I have built together and think, “We really get to do this.” That’s a pretty wonderful feeling.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.goatyogarva.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goatyogarva/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/970121159699213
- Other: https://www.pactamerefarm.com
