Cat crazy. That’s what they call you if you have more than one cat, or a wardrobe of cat t-shirts, cat jewelry or cat accessories.
July 6 & 7, 2019 was the weekend of pet festivals – both dog and cat. So, guess what I did?
Saturday: meowfest Toronto 2019
July 6, 2019, thousands – yes thousands, of crazy cat people paraded their feline pride and lined up – yup, lined up – outside of Evergreen Brickworks in Toronto for meowfest, a celebration of cats organized by meowbox.
Channeling the popular L.A. CatCon, meowfest was mostly shopping for anything feline including cat toys, cat art, cat climbers, cat wine and even VolanaKote jewellery incorporating fallen cat whiskers – yes, they do custom orders. Participants rocked cat ears and the best assortment of cat-print dresses I’ve seen anywhere.
The best news? ALL cats in the adoptable room found forever homes by noon and $16,300 raised at the event went to Toronto Cat Rescue.
Sunday: Muddy Paws Wine Festival 2019
The heat wave passed, and the rain held off, making Sunday neither too hot or too muddy for Muddy Paws annual winery dog festival. That’s right, July 6 & 7, 2019 was take your dog to the winery weekend – every year Featherstone Winery and Vineland Estates team up and allow pets and people to enjoy a glass of wine (or more) some stone-baked human garlic bread treats and pumpkin dog puffs.
A twenty-minute nature walk through a strip of the Nagara Escarpment links the outdoor events at the two wineries, which is really the best part for the pups. (Check out previous adventures here).
Proceeds from entry fees and wine sales benefit The Bello Project, a non-profit organization that helps terminally ill people keep their pets until their death, then re-homes the animals with a care-giver they’ve already established trust with.
“All of this leads to a more successful transition for the pet,” according to The Bello Project, “maintains the important human-animal bond until the owner’s death and allows the new owner to feel confident in the pet’s adjustment.”
Best new thing at the event: The Bello Project’s fundraising project in vendor’s row. For $10, you get a small canvas with graphic images drawn on them like LOVE, a wine glass, and a flower with an obvious spot to put a paw print. With water-soluble paint, print your pup’s paws on it.
Google (yes, that Google) employees volunteered time to draw the canvasses and the company donated $10 for every hour they spent. Did I buy one for my dog Victor? Of course, I did.
Many wineries in the Niagara Region are dog-friendly – check out our guide here.
Writer bio: Sherri Telenko has been a professional writer for decades and 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.
