Barktoberfest 2018

Durham Parks and Recreation (DPR) and Beyond Fences have teamed up once again to organize Durham’s most popular canine bonanza, Barktoberfest! On Saturday, October 27, 2018, the Durham community and their four-legged friends, can come and partake in the festivities at Durham Central Park located at 501 Foster Street, from 2:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. The event will begin immediately following the Durham Farmer’s Market, which takes place at Durham Central Park every Saturday morning. There will be food, fun, and fur-babies galore! Barktoberfest 2018 aims to encourage solidarity within the pet-lovers of Durham. Businesses and community members alike have the opportunity to share their passions through art, neighborhood involvement, music, pet health, games, activities, and socialization. 

DPR continues to support and admire the work of our non-profit partner, Beyond Fences, as they faithfully serve our town through several proactive methods. Their fence program provides free fences and dog houses to dogs living on chains, in order to improve the quality of life of Durham dogs. They have a spay/neuter program that provides free spay/neuter to dogs and cats, as well as basic vaccinations. They also have an Outreach and Wellness program that provides families with pet care supplies and veterinary care. Beyond Fences offers a Shelter Intervention Program to provide families with veterinary care, pet deposits, and shelter reclaim fees so their pets do not have to be surrendered. In 2017 alone, this fantastic band of citizens have unchained 98 dogs, spayed/neutered 291 pets, provided 134 families with pet wellness assistance and kept 262 families together with their pets through shelter intervention. DPR Canine Recreation takes great pride in collaborating with the pro-active members of Beyond Fences and the multifaceted networks they have created to enrich the lives of man’s best friend. If you would like to support or donate to Beyond Fences, please visit their site.

This year, Durham residents can look forward to an array of activities at Barktoberfest. Kicking off an afternoon of fun, the Purina ProPlan performance team, DareDevils, will once again be displaying their athletic talents through a variety of trick and high flying disc routines. Following the show, you can enjoy a performance by the Duke University Wind Symphony. The Duke University Wind Symphony, directed by Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant, is composed largely of non-majors (both undergraduate and graduate) who wish to challenge themselves by performing the finest wind and percussion literature at a high level of artistry. The peaceful sounds of the wind ensemble will be a great way for your pets to relax as they await the contest that follows.

  

Open to all that are interested, the first contest will be Best Pet Trick! We hope everyone has been practicing over the summer to show off their talents! Next, we will have another music performance by the Durham Community Concert Band which has been entertaining Durham since 1983 with a repertoire that includes pop, marches, classical, Broadway and movie hits, contemporary NC compositions, and semi-classical tunes. After their performance, there will be two back-to-back contests: Pet Individual (Pets Only) Costume contest and Best Group (People and Pets) Costume contest. We can’t wait to see what our community comes up with this year! After the costume contests, Purina ProPlan DareDevils will perform to wrap up the evening. They are a wonderful reminder that our canine friends are capable of spectacular athleticism and intelligence through dedication and human-canine bonding. Make sure to stay till the end for the drawing of winning raffle tickets, as we find out who will win an assortment of “dogcentric” gifts donated by different pet-business of Durham.

3 Things To Do Before Heading To Barktoberfest

1. Pick up some pet food supplies to donate to our Canine Food Drive for pets in need. 
2. Get those tricks and costumes ready for our contests – Best Trick, Best Individual Costume (Dog Only), and Best Group Costume! 
3. Don’t forget to bring some cash for beer and food sales, raffles, pet market, and photo booth! 

Let’s also give a huge shout out to all of our amazing 2018 Barktoberfest Sponsors, which include:

Platinum Paw Sponsors

Broadway Veterinary Hospital, New Hope Animal Hospital, Cornwallis Road Animal Hospital / Creature Comforts Inn, Ponysaurus Brewing, Surefire Photography

Gold Paw Sponsor 

Jewelsmith, Inc

Silver Paw Sponsors

North Paw Animal Hospital, Sunny Acres Pet Resort, Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospitals, Suite Paws Pet Resort

Bronze Paw Sponsors

Green Beagle Lodge, Barnes Supply Company, Southpoint Animal Hospital, Dog Stylists, Inc., AniMall Pet Adoption and Outreach Center, Camp Bow Wow Chapel Hill, Lap Of Love Veterinary Hospice Of The Triangle, Triangle Veterinary Hospital 

For more information on this event and specific activity times, visit our website.