For Immediate Release – July 21, 2010
Contact: Julia Shell at 312-203-3130 or juliashell@juliashellpr.com
West Suburban Humane Society to Host
17th Annual Barkapalooza Dog Walkathon and Expo
(DOWNERS GROVE, IL) – The Seventeenth Annual Barkapalooza, a fundraiser for the West Suburban Humane Society, will take place on Sunday, September 26, 2010, from 10am to 2pm at Patriot Park at 55th Street and Grand in Downers Grove, Illinois. This dog-friendly event allows pet owners, prospective pet adopters and all-around pet lovers to raise money for homeless pets through a Dog Walkathon. Participants are encouraged to collect pledges for the walk, and all proceeds will support the West Suburban Humane Society.
Visitors may also explore the Pet Expo, where a group of pet-focused vendors such as the K9 Cookie Company, The Happy Dog Barkery, Mark Pastor Photography, Belle Aire Kennels and Fabien’s Paw Station and others will be featured along with breed specific rescue groups. Owners may also have pets micro chipped for a discounted rate of only $35. A blessing for the animals will be given at 10am to kickoff the event, and the Frisbee Sky Dog Team will also do a demonstration. For the kids, there will be clowns, face painting and balloon sculptures, all free of charge, along with a “Kids and Kindness Zone”.
Once again, each participant in the Dog Walkathon can create their own Barkapalooza fundraising web page by logging on to www.firstgiving.com/wshs. When walkers set up their page through Firstgiving.com, they will be entered into a Split-the-Pot Raffle drawing. For every $100 of donations received, another entry for them will be placed in the drawing. The winner of the raffle is guaranteed a minimum $1,000 prize.
Visitors to Barkapalooza can enjoy a day of food, fun, music, and even receive a free goody bag for their pet. Local restaurant, Chics and Salsa, will vend burritos, guacamole, chips and salsa, along with other food purveyors. Registration is $10 per adult, and children 12 and under are free. Walkers with $100 or more in collected pledges will have their registration fee waived. For more information on Barkapalooza, please visit www.barkapalooza.org.
About the West Suburban Humane Society
Founded in 1972 as a lost and found referral service, the volunteer based West Suburban Humane Society, located at 1901 West Ogden Avenue in Downers Grove, Illinois, is dedicated to operating an animal shelter for the purpose of finding safe, permanent, compatible homes through the adoption of domestic dogs and cats. Servicing the six counties of DuPage, Will, Cook, Kane, Kendall, Lake and McHenry, the WSHS believes in educating the community on humane and responsible dog and cat care as a means of ending the unnecessary euthanasia of adoptable companion animals, as well as controlling pet overpopulation by spaying and neutering all animals in their care and encouraging pet owners to do the same. The WSHS works for animal advocacy, care and education through fundraising. For more information about the West Suburban Humane Society or to donate, please call 630-960-9600 or visit www.wshs-dg.org .
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