KATLAN THOMERSON
Calling all dog lovers! Mark your calendars for BRAWA’s first Derby Dog Festival, an event happening on April 27 at the Barren River State Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
In December 2023, Molly Lile Taylor sent an email to roughly 25 people inviting them to a meeting at BRAWA in January in hopes of sparking new ideas for fundraising events.
“Hey, looking for some fresh ideas. Would love for you all to be able to come to the shelter during the first week of January,” Erika Toohey recalled an email sent from Taylor.
During the meeting, Liz McClellan suggested that they host an event that includes a lure course. Shortly after the meeting, a committee comprised of Liz McClellan, Railey McClellan, Erika Toohey, Lisa Logsdon, and Robin Crane began bringing the event to fruition.
“The lure course became the center of everything that we’ve done and once we decided that we were going to do it in the spring before BRAWA’s big fundraising effort, the 14th annual Shake Your Paw Ball, and we looked where Derby is, we decided to schedule it the week before Derby and incorporate it into the event,” Toohey said.
Event Details
Admission is $10 per person. Dogs and children under five are free. After paying the entry fee, you’ll gain access to several free activities.
“We’re going to be doing a paw print that will be placed on a piece of craft paper that volunteers will add a stem and leaves to so that your dog’s paw looks like a flower. We’re not charging for that, but we are accepting donations to the shelter,” said Toohey.
Free Activities
- Swag bags
- Paw print craft
- Dog kissing Photobooth
- Search and Rescue demonstrations
The first 50 people or households will receive swag bags full of items for you and your dog(s).
“The swag bags are full to the brim. They have everything from bones to frisbees, to collapsible water dishes, to tennis balls, and even notepads for yourself,” said Toohey. “Let’s say that you were to come with a small dog and a big dog. We would give you one bag and instead of giving you another bag, we’d put extra things in your bag for your smaller dog such as a dog bandana and small bones.”
Food Vendors:
- Southern BBQ (BG)
- Dog Pen Hotdogs (BG)
- Hawaiian Shave Ice (Glasgow)
- Rose & Jo’s Sisterz Blendz (T-ville)
- Ole Canoe Smashburgers (Edmonton)
Non-Food Vendors
- PETCO
- Little Paws
- SOKY Clean
- Feeders Pet Supply
- Green Street Gifts
- Fireline Outdoors
- Stephanie Anduro
- Reesor Farm Kennels
- Good Boy Dog Training
- Good Boy Dog Training
- Canis Major Dog Training
- Tommy Boles Photography
- Petsense by Tractor Supply
- Kentucky K-9 Search and Rescue (SAR) Foundation
In addition to these vendors, BRAWA will be selling shirts and etched glasses that were made by students at Glasgow High School.
“Th Derby sells annual Derby glasses, so we bought glasses that students from Glasgow High School etched,” Toohey said. “They’ll have First Annual Derby Dog Festival with BRAWA and the three dogs on our flyer etched on them.”
Proceeds
This event was created to help fund BRAWA’s flood mitigation project. 100% of the entry fee and 50% of BRAWA’s t-shirt sales will be allocated to the flooding project. According to Toohey, vendors were charged $50. Half of the $50 will be used to cover the park’s fee and the remainder will be contributed to BRAWA’s flood project as well.
Schedule of Events
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