Memorial Day long weekend in the US just wrapped up; Canada beat them to it by celebrating Victoria Day (also known as May 2-4) the week prior. Whichever way you celebrate it, summer has officially launched – and so has the season of the pet festival!
Scroll down to find links to both USA and Canada dogtrotting.net Pet Festival Guides.
The weekend of May 27 and 28, 2023, we began pet festival season with great intention:
- Visiting one pet festival in Brantford, Ontario
- Participating in one charity walk-a-thon/race in Oakville, Ontario
- Attending a brewery animal rescue fundraiser in Hamilton, Ontario
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I was tired; my crazy spaniel was not. In fact, she was in true springing Springer form and extremely excited at each event. Using our new nose halter helped a bit. (affiliate link). But wow, Sprockers are excitable.
Stop one: Pet Palooza Pet Festival
About 1,000 people and 250 dog attended the first Pet Palooza event hosted at the Brantford, Ontario Civic Centre. Mid-centre was the Dog Lovers Lure Course, this time free to all paying attendees (well, their dogs). My spaniel knows exactly what the lure course is, and she runs circles even after the ‘lure’ has stopped running.
Tables of vendors circled the lure course and demonstration zone, and we came home with more dog treats, including a make-your-own pet treat jar created as a fundraiser to support the Brantford Off Leash Dog Park.
Stop two: Oakville Mission Pawsible Fundraiser
May 28, 2023 was the day to lace up your running shoes and head to the Bronte Creek Provincial Park in Oakville, Ontario. If you love running, the main event was a 5K and a 10K around the park (a few people did it with dogs in tow). But just for fun, a 1K walk/run was added for people and their pups. A minimum $25 registration fee was required, but collecting additional donations was encouraged.
About 60 pups and their people showed up to walk/run at the Mission Pawsible fundraiser for the Oakville/Milton SPCA . My enthusiastic spaniel did the route in classic zigzag Sprocker pattern, while holding a ball in her mouth the entire distance. Then it was off to the Bronte Creek Provincial Park leash-free zone we’ve visited many times before.
Stop three: Grain and Grit Dog Day Bash 2023
After a good run, it was off to the Grain and Grit Beer Co, in Hamilton, Ontario because it was Dog Day Bash 2023, and the activities started at noon sharp. Dogs and their people filtered in the moment the doors open. Four vendors along with representatives from Ladybird Sanctuary animal rescue, the benefactor of this event.
Red Door wood oven pizza churned out some food with your Grain and Grit beer. Fetching Studios was there too, so updated pics of my pretty pup and I think these are the best yet!.
Pet Festival Season Begins!
From the May long weekend (whichever one you prefer) to the end of the summer (and a bit beyond), you can likely attend a pet festival every weekend depending where you live:
Check out the dogtrotting.net Guide to Canadian Pet Festivals (a thorough list for Ontario)
We’ve been actively adding and updating each week, but if there’s something missing, please let us know.
Writer bio: Sherri Telenko has been a professional writer for decades and a travel writer for the last two. She’s a member of TMAC (Travel Media Association of Canada) and Dog Writers Association of America and travels almost weekly with her canine companion, Victoria. All written content is original, written by a person, and based on experience and research.
