Fido Fest 2016

For a dog lover such as myself, there is no better way to spend a day than surrounded by puppies and their humans at a dog festival! Santee’s first annual Fido Fest 2016 was a bustling spectacular of everything dog: vendors, exhibitions, shows, demonstrations, games, raffles, prizes, food, activities, play areas, and (of course) biscuits and bellyrubs!

The event started bright and early at 9am on a Saturday, although we didn’t arrive until around 11am (it’s a lot of work rounding up a boyfriend and a playful pup and getting them out the door!). Despite Ryan’s grumblings, I dropped Phoebe into her custom, home-made backpack (yes, I WILL be writing a post specifically about this backpack and how I made it!) and off we went.

Rows of vendors offered everything from dog clothes and accessories to veterinary plans to gourmet dog foods – and everything in between. My personal favorite was the luxury clothing stand, which sold one-of-a-kind dog clothing pieces like sundresses and biker vests. Silly, I know… but so much fun! Unfortunately, Phoebe has a difficult body type to fit, so we walked away empty-handed, but we saw lots of stylish pups rocking their new outfits around the festival!

Some booths offered discounted vaccinations and chipping, others advertised vet services and plans. Many of the larger companies (PetCo, etc.) offered a free spin of the wheel to receive small prizes. We won a few great gifts: a reusable food can cover, a dog food scoop, a free vet visit, and a few others.

Of course, there were several adoption booths with hopeful pups waiting to meet their forever parents. No amount of puppy eyes convinced Ryan, though. All I could do was pet the cuties and wish them luck. Besides the adoption booths, there were at least two pitbull rescue booths that I spotted, which is always great to see!

Every dog product imaginable was available for purchase: custom-built water and food bowls, dog toys, leashes, collars, artwork… the list goes on and on! It was a marketplace tailored for dogs and dogs only. We were in heaven!

Every way you looked, something exciting was going on. On one end of the park, an enclosed off-leash area had been set up and dozens of pups were galloping around and sharing the toys scattered across the lawn. On the other side, police K9 demonstrations and a doggie cakewalk were only two of several demonstrations on the main stage. In the middle, a flyball and obedience arena was set up for dog sports demonstrations. Someday, I would love for Phoebe to participate in obedience competitions… she has only had one obedience class so far and it was a little dicey, but I know she is much smarter than her stubbornness leads us to believe. Practice, practice, practice!

My absolute favorite part of this entire event was the variety of fun activity booths set up. Most of them were free, but asked for a $1 donation to help with costs and to be donated to relevant organizations. I participated in as many of these as I could.

We started with the doggie tattoos (fake, of course!). With some stencils and skin-safe spraypaint, the volunteers gave each excited pooch a fun fur tattoo. Stars and paw print designs were available in blue and pink, but for Phoebe we chose a cute pink heart for her tush. There were some skeptical looks and virtual ‘Ummm’-ing on her part, but she was a good sport and – once finished – looked absolutely adorable! Throughout the day, both her tramp stamp and her fashionable backpack received countless compliments from the other event-goers.

Next up was the Puptini booth, where Miss Teen Santee, herself, poured some gourmet martinis for the respectable guests of the event. Other than being completely delectable (if Phoebe’s enthusiasm was any indicator), they were 100% cute. Little plastic martini glasses, filled with chicken broth and garnished with a slice of hotdog speared on a pretzel stick… yummy and classy!

After her noon-time drink, Phoebe was ready for a new toy to take home with her. At the next booth, the kind volunteer instructed me on how to weave together plush fabric pieces into a braided rope. At first, Ryan and I were skeptical… Phoebe is not much of a player and typically turns her nose up at most toys. With so much going on at the festival, she certainly was not interested in my gift for her. I understood, but stuffed it into her backpack anyway, with the rest of her gifts and prizes. Later that day, at home, I was delighted to find that she absolutely loved the toy. To this day, it is still her favorite! It was cheap and simple to make… one of these days, I’ll do a post on DIY tog toys/treats and feature that design.

Here, we took a break to grab some hot dogs (so appropriate!) for lunch and let Phoebe run around the off-leash area. She is kind of an awkward dog and is still developing her social skills, so she mostly stood around and watched the other dogs chase and tug. Eventually, I just ran around the perimeter of the fence while she followed me. A little lame, but hey… she seemed to enjoy it and she got her exercise!

The event was coming to an end soon, so we did one more sweep through the booths, watched the police K9 demonstration (super cool!), and visited one last activity booth where Phoebe had her portrait drawn by a talented cartoonist. He nailed it!

Finally, it was time to head out. With both my purse and Phoebe’s saddlebags filled to the brim with toys, gifts, and prizes, we sadly left the park and walked back to the car. I would have loved to have arrived earlier and spent more time there… as it was, there was too much to do and see in only a few short hours! Luckily, this Fido Fest was the first of many to come, and we plan on attending 2017’s event as well.

To check out the list of events, sponsors, booths, etc., please visit their Facebook event page here, or their page on the Santee city website. And definitely stay tuned for details about next year’s 2017 Fido Fest!

 

Goodbye, Fido Fest, until next year!