Peace signs will be plentiful among pet owners and their pals when Friends of the Gilmer Animal Shelter (FOGAS) present their Woofstock pet party Saturday, April 13.
The Woofstock festivities will be centered in the courthouse parking lot on Broad and Dalton Street starting at 10 a.m.
This will be the second annual pet friendly event, which replaced the annual St. Petrick’s Day festivities last year. FOGAS had previously overseen the St. Petrick’s proceedings, and Woofstock is a similar type of pet-themed event, but with a hippie, Woodstock theme, noted Sylvia Harris, FOGAS president.
The pet party is also a fundraiser for FOGAS, which will use the proceeds for various pet-related community projects including a reduced cost spay-neuter program, a trap-neuter-release program for feral cats, children’s pet education programs and various special projects at the county animal shelter.
“They estimated anywhere from 700-1,000 people attended last year, which was our first one. We (hope) to have even more this year,” said Harris.
A pet/owner parade through downtown Ellijay will again be part of Woofstock, Harris confirmed. The entire event is open to the public and free to attend, but there is a $5 fee to be in the parade.
“The parade open to any kind of animal. We even had some goats last year,” Harris said.
The parade starts at 11:30 a.m., but participants can start lining up as early as 11 a.m. at Ellijay Elementary School, 32 McCutchen Street. The route will be from the elementary school to North Main Street to the roundabout, Harris noted.
“The walkers with dogs will then proceed to the stage where we will be having pet contests,” she added.
The day will also feature pet-themed vendors, dog adoption opportunities from Homeward Bound Pet Rescue, live music from local rockers Hush Money and performances by Ultimate Air Dogs, a pool diving activity in which dogs that enjoy swimming can also participate. Various pet/owner contests will also be held throughout the day, noted Harris.
“We have 60 vendor slots filled, including food vendors, pet trainers and (animal) rescues. We have a trainer coming up from Miami, and we also have a Newfoundland rescue coming in. A lot of (the vendors) are from out of town,” she added.