Barktoberfest should be a howling good time
The public is invited to deck their dogs out in whatever fun costumes they like and join the crowd during the upcoming Barktoberfest celebration at Harvest Ridge on Sunday, Oct. 22 from 2-5 p.m.
The Halloween season is known as a time when kids and some adults get decked out in their favorite costumes, but for one upcoming gathering, it will be the four-legged animals that get dressed up for the occasion.
The Holmes County Dog Warden’s Department will host the inaugural Barktoberfest on Sunday, Oct. 22 from 2-5 p.m. at the pavilion at Harvest Ridge Fairgrounds.
The free event is open to anyone who wants to bring in their dog, and they can dress them up in their favorite garb or bring them to the event natural.
“This is all new for us,” said Jonathan Beam, Holmes County dog warden. “We have seen some other shelters do something similar, and we were excited about the idea of bringing people together to enjoy a day celebrating our similar passions for dogs. We’ve seen and heard from a lot of people who enjoy getting their dogs dressed up, so we figured why not go ahead and try this type of an event out?”
Beam said anyone with a dog can attend, and the only thing they ask is every dog is friendly and on a leash.
The event also will serve as a way for the office to showcase what it does and the services it offers to the public.
According to Beam, in addition to the pet costume contest, the event will host several resources from within and around Holmes County that are pet care related. These free resources will be a way for dog owners to gain insight into the area organizations that are available to enhance the lives of their pets.
“This is something that is going to be both fun and educational,” Beam said. “People don’t realize all of the dog-related businesses we have in and around Holmes County. Holmes County doesn’t have a whole lot to choose from when it comes to dog training, boarding kennels and different things like that. There’s not a lot to choose from, so one of the things we hope to accomplish is to bring people to come in and see the many resources that are close by in neighboring counties that they have easy access to.”
He said they also will have a table set up with plenty of educational material that will be free to take.
The event will feature several food trucks, live music from Ezra Jeffrey, several pet-related raffle baskets, the 4-H Woof Pack, pet vendors, a caricature artist and face painting for the kids, and there will be many dogs from the kennel at the event that are currently available for adoption.
“Our raffle baskets are really going to be great, and dog owners won’t want to miss out on the opportunity to win one of those,” Beam said. “We’re hoping to dress up some of our adoptable kennel dogs, but every dog is different, and some dogs don’t like it, so we’ll see how many we can dress for the occasion.”
Beam said the most recent community activity the department hosted was the dog 5k at Hipp Station at Holmes County Rails-to-Trails. He said that event was a huge success, and they are hoping this one achieves the same standard of success.
“We think this should be a really fun event,” Beam said. “We want to create something unique and fun and give people with dogs something enjoyable to do on a Sunday afternoon, and any time you get a bunch of people together who share a passion and joy for dogs, it’s going to be a fun time.”
Any donation brought in through the basket raffle or T-shirt sales from the event will go directly into the department’s medical fund, which benefits dogs that come into the kennel and need medical aid.
“This benefits the dogs, educates people and most of all makes for a fun afternoon,” Beam said. “Our hope is that this continues to paint a positive image of our department and helps people better understand what we do on a daily basis, and if we’re lucky, maybe we’ll even adopt a dog or two.”
Harvest Ridge is located at 8880 state Route 39, one mile west of Millersburg.