Humane Society plans Woofstock
Photo courtesy of the Washington Area Humane Society
Edie, an alumnus of Washington Area Humane Society, sports flower power as the official mascot for the nonprofit’s Woofstock event in 2021.
The Washington Area Humane Society is hosting Woofstock, a pet party in Mingo Creek County Park from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 11, with pet contests, live music, food trucks and pet-related vendors.
Courtesy of Washington Area Humane Society
Volunteers with Washington Area Humane Society pet one of the shelter dogs during a fundraising event in Houston earlier this month.
After more than a year, the Washington Area Humane Society is ready to “let the dogs out” with a party in the park they’re calling “Woofstock.”
The fundraising event, at Mingo Creek County Park July 11, will be pet friendly with more than 30 pet-themed vendors, live music and food trucks.
“We want it to grow and be one of our anchor events,” said Kelly Proudfit, executive director of the WAHS.
Woofstock will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and spread out from shelters six through nine, according to Taylor Duda, assistant director of community engagement for WAHS. She said there will be pet contests with prizes for categories like ice cream eating and best tricks. They will also have an “adoption row” with some of their animals, and live music from a local band, Ruff House.
“It’s meant to bring pet and animal lovers together in the community,” Duda said.
Proudfit said the nonprofit had planned to host the inaugural event last year, but had to host it virtually after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the nation. Through peer-to-peer fundraising online, the organization was still able to raise about $15,000.
Proudfit said that while their event, clinic and adoption revenue streams were down last year, the organization was able to secure grants and donations to cover the lost revenue during the pandemic.
“We couldn’t have clinics or adoptions, and there was a halt on anything nonessential,” she said. “Lots of people who supported the new building came to us during the pandemic to help. We had such a good foundation of support from different organizations in the community.”
The humane society staff is hopeful it will open their doors to the public in July, as they’ve only been accessible by appointment for more than a year.
“We’re slowly getting our way back to normal,” Proudfit said. “There are a lot of people who haven’t been out and about in the last year, and it’s more fun when you can bring your pet.”
The goal for Woofstock is to raise $25,000, which will go toward daily operations and the animals for which they care. Duda said they started an online fundraiser for the event last month, which already has raised $6,500. She said the goal is to sell 200 $10 admission tickets, and have sold 50 so far.
“With everything getting back to almost normal, I think people are excited to get out, and if they can bring their pet, that’s an extra draw for them,” Duda said. “We love getting together with the community, and this will be the first time in over a year.”