Upcoming Barktober Fest at Harvest Ridge is for the dogs
JoAnna and Michael DeWitt with their dogs Ross and Migxy enjoyed gathering with other dog owners throughout the area at last year's Barktober Fest.
Harvest Ridge will be filled with the sounds of howls and sweet music with the second annual Barktober Fest arriving Saturday, Oct. 12.
The Holmes County Dog Warden’s Department will present its event designed for both humans and canines from 3-6 p.m. in the Gloria and Eli Yoder Pavilion on the fairgrounds at Harvest Ridge, and the event is certain to be a howling success.
Barktober Fest was created as a way to celebrate the many joys dogs bring to people, and dog owners are invited to bring their favorite canine friend or friends, provided they are friendly and on a leash.
In addition, they are invited to dress their dogs up in costume for the pet costume contest.
Other activities will include raffle baskets, food trucks, a presentation from the Holmes County 4-H Woof Pack in which they will have a dog obstacle course set up for dogs to run, and several pet vendors and dog adoption information.
There also will be live music performed by local talent Ezra Jeffrey.
“If someone came last year, it is much the same but hopefully even bigger and better,” said Jes McConville, a dog warden assistant who is spearheading the event. “We had a blast last year.”
One of the hopes of the event is to create a venue in which the department can bring together a variety of dog resource vendors so the public can ask questions and learn more about anything new or important in the world of canines.
“It’s nice to have all of that information in one place,” McConville said. “Plus, it is always fun to get a bunch of people who share the same passion for dogs together and have a good time providing some play dates for the dogs.”
Another fun addition this year is the department bringing in pumpkins from the pumpkin patch surrounding the new dog play area at the facility. Those pumpkins will have paw prints painted on them, each featuring one of the dogs available for adoption at the center.
Those pumpkins will be part of the silent auction, and the winner of each auction will receive a certificate for a private pumpkin painting class with local artist Laura McCartney, who has painted art for the dog warden’s office, along with doing some sit-and-paint fundraiser classes for the organization.
“Laura is a super person and a talented artist who loves dogs and has graciously volunteered to provide this service,” McConville said.
All the fun is for a very serious part of what the dog warden’s department offers, that being its medical fund, which provides necessary medical treatment to any dog that is brought into the facility.
Beam shared the story of the recent arrival of a Great Pyrenees dog that came in with a wounded leg. The department was able to provide the needed treatment to fix the wound.
“We’re never going to turn away a dog that needs medical treatment,” Beam said. “In this case we were able to get her fixed up, and sometimes we find a rescue home, but in her case, we found a foster-to-adopt home.”
Cases like that one prove the critical importance of the medical fund, and Beam said 2024 has been a particularly expensive one, noting the expenses ran close to $16,000 just for medical treatment.
Barktober Fest is free to the public and provides a relaxing day of fun for people and their four-footed friends while creating an awareness to everything the dog warden’s office is doing for the community and the county.
He said events like this and community donations directly help the department offset the cost.
Harvest Ridge is located at 8800 state Route 39, one mile west of Millersburg.