Organisers of this weekend’s Street Paws Festival in Newcastle have their fingers crossed the weather gods play ball.
The much-loved free event, which pays homage to our four-legged friends, is returning to The Station on Saturday 22 October, from 10am until 2pm.
Apart from the regular competitions, featuring the Old Timer (11.30am), Best Rescue (12.30pm) and Cutest Pooch (1.30pm) categories, there will be 30 stalls, mostly comprising of pet brands, as well as food trucks and coffee vans for the humans.
“At this stage, it’s all systems go,” Sharon Garrard said.
“Although the forecast isn’t the best, we’ll make a final decision at 1pm on Friday (21 October).
“It’s frustrating, but we’re in the hands of Mother Nature.
“However, people can stay up-to-date with any information on our Facebook page.”
Ms Garrard admitted Newcastle was her “favourite place” to host the Street Paws Festival.
“We’ve been doing this for the past four years,” she said.
“And, the response up there is always fantastic.
“It’s a community of dog-lovers.
“We had at least 1,000 canines before the pandemic; it’s that popular.
“I started the festivals at Mount Penang on the Central Coast, at a sister company of The Station.
“They recommended the venue in Newcastle to us – and we haven’t looked back.
“We stage Street Paws throughout the state, and even taken it to Brisbane, so the Hunter was always on our radar.
“Thankfully, it continues to grow, too.
“COVID affected us; we conducted a lot of online comps.
“But, it wasn’t the same.
“It’s good to be out among the people and pooches again.
“We’re doing them at least once a month now.
“However, due to its popularity, this will be our second event in Newcastle this year alone.
“I just need to thank our sponsor, whiskr, a new app that locates dog-friendly places like pubs and motels, for coming on board.”
Ms Garrard said this weekend’s Street Paws would also shine a light on the “rescues”.
“Tiki Animal Rescue, a not-for-profit, will be in attendance,” she told the Newcastle Weekly.
“They usually have dogs that are up for adoption.
“So, if people want to be educated on fostering, or adoption, they can help with that.
“But, we’ll have many organisations on deck to lend their assistance wherever possible.”
Street Paws Festival competition schedule
(registration is free)
- 11.30am: Old Timer
- 12.30pm: Best Rescue
- 1.30pm: Cutest Pooch
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