In addition to its usual menagerie of barking and baying, growling and howling, neighing and braying beasts, Petpalooza, Auburn’s mid-spring celebration of those fabulous critters in our lives, is raring back on its hind legs at all the new and exceedingly cool stuff Saturday at Game Farm Park.
In addition, of course, to the familiar and exceedingly cool stuff.
And to see any of it, you gotta be at the park between 9:30 a.m., and 5 p.m.
Kristy Pachciarz, coordinator of Petpalooza for the City of Auburn’s Parks, Arts and Recreation Department, this week pulled back the curtain on the new stuff.
“We will have an adoption show on the Entertainment Stage between 12:50 and 1:30 p.m. Also, Auburn Community Players will host an audition for a dog to appear in its upcoming musical, ‘Legally Blonde,'” Pachciarz said.
In addition to the food court staples, Petpaloozians with barking bellies may nosh at the new snack court.
Dog Trot, a family-oriented fun run event, takes place in conjunction with the award-winning festival. The “chip-timed” race starts and finishes at the same location. Participants follow a 3K or 5K route over a flat, easy course, enjoyable for all ages and ability levels. Awards will be distributed to the top participant in five age groups.
On-site registration, which is $25 per entry, includes an event T-shirt, while supplies last. Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m.
Live entertainment includes the Skyhoundz Disc Dog Championships, Seattle Flydogs demos, pony rides, agility areas, more than 165 vendor booths, giveaways and lots of activities to keep humans and creatures entertained. Back is the popular 40-by-20-foot petting zoo, rife with wallabies, miniature horses, llamas, pot-bellied piggies, Sicilian donkeys, sheep and other animals not necessarily found in other petting zoos.
And don’t forget Ag-ventureland, which offers 10 different hands-on interactive activities for kids to try out, like milking a life-size, Fiberglass cow, pony saddling and riding pedal tractors.
The Artrageous Zone offers hands-on art opportunities, from paw-print activities that allow owners to use Fluffy or Fido’s paws to make a picture, to experimenting with metal art to make a pet tag for your critter.
There’ll even be an artist to make a portrait of your animal.
The City expects a crowd of about 15,000 at Game Farm Park, 3030 R St. SE.
For more information, visit www.auburnwa.gov/things_to_do/special_events.
