Weavers Way Petapalooza Festival Saturday, May 31, Celebrates Everything Animal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PHILADELPHIA, May 13 — Weavers Way’s fourth annualPETAPALOOZA, a street festival celebrating dogs, cats, chickens, hamsters, horses and more takes place Saturday, May 31, 2014, from noon to 4 p.m.

Carpenter Lane between Greene and Sherman streets in Mt. Airy will be closed to vehicular traffic for the party, which is centered at the Co-op pet store at Weavers Way Across the Way, 608-610 Carpenter Lane.

This year’s Petapalooza theme is “Rescue Me.” Several rescue organizations, including the Pennsylvania SPCA, will be bringing animals who are ready for forever homes. Humans who adopt during Petapalooza will get free Weavers Way starter kits worth $50 filled with all kinds of kitty and doggie booty — including a full-size package of Wellness pet food — to help their furry new family members feel at home.

Petapalooza offers a great opportunity to talk to and learn from some of the most knowledgeable and reputable people in pet nutrition, pet training and animal advocacy. Pet-food vendors who promote diets free of byproducts or low-quality, generic ingredients will offer free samples. Local veterinarians, animal trainers, pet-care professionals, walkers, groomers and washers will be on hand. Of course, there will be live music and the famous Weavers Way Grill.

Fowl will represent too. Meet Philadelphia Backyard Chickens, a group that has made great strides toward making chickens legal again in the city. Look for the hens pecking around the Pet Store window at Weavers Way Across the Way — admire their plumage and throw a few mealworms for them to snack on!

Five percent of the day’s Pet Store sales will be donated to the participating nonprofit animal-rescue organizations.

In addition, all month long, Weavers Way Across the Way will be home to two animal benefit drop-offs.  Bring your well-loved stuffed animals for good-karma repurposing by Glad Dogs Nation (gladdogsnation.com),  which wil upcycle them into new dog plushy toys. The Co-op is also collecting supplies for the PSPCA — cardboard tubing, newspapers, and new or gently used pet bedding, towels and pet toys. Bring them to the Pet Store at Across the Way during business hours, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. daily, through May 31.

And the Petapalooza Paw-Purrazzi Pet Photo and Video Contest is in full swing! Through May 29, pet stage-moms and stage-dads can upload their photogenic furbaby’s best lick, trick or costume to the Paw-Purrazzi Facebook page(www.facebook.com/wwpetapalooza2014).

A panel of esteemed animal lovers and pet professionals will choose winners in three categories: Cutest Portrait, Best Costume and Best Trick Video. Plus, the pic with the most “likes” will be the People’s Choice winner. (We are a co-op, after all.) Winners will be announced during Petapalooza, around 3 p.m.

Here's a preliminary list of Petapalooza participants:

Rescue organizations
Brenda's Cats www.brendascatrescue.com
Greene Street Animal Rescuegreenestreetanimalrescue.vpweb.com
Morris Animal Refuge www.morrisanimalrefuge.org
PSPCA pspca.org

Adovcacy groups
The Humane League www.thehumaneleague.com
Leaping Bunny www.leapingbunny.org
Philadelphia Backyard Chickens www.facebook.com/groups/321078164597392

Animal professionals
Bad Dog Good Dog training (CJ Hazell)
Bark Play Love www.barkplaylove.com
Chris Switky dog training
Canine Partners for Life k94life.org
Mt. Airy Animal Hospital www.mtairyvet.com
Philadelphia Saddle Club philadelphiasaddleclub.blogspot.com
Queenie's Pets www.queeniespets.com

Pet Foods and Supplies
Acana www.acana.com
Annamaet www.annamaet.com
Glad Dogs Nation gladdogsnation.com
Merrick www.merrickpetcare.com
Orijen www.facebook.com/OrijenDogandCatFoods
Primal Pet Foods ‎www.primalpetfoods.com
Top Quality Dog Food www.topqualitydogfood.com
Verus www.veruspetfoods.com
Weruva www.weruva.com

Miscellaneous vendors
Mucho Bueno food truck eatmuchobueno.com
Primex Garden Center primexgardencenter.com
Roadside Linen Arts www.facebook.com/pages/Roadside-Linen-Arts/133104860202412‎
Spoil Yourself upcycled jewelry

About Weavers Way: Founded in 1973 as a neighborhood buying club, the Co-op now encompasses two grocery stores, three specialty shops in Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill and still growing. Weavers Way is member-owned and open to everyone. We are committed to offering quality products that are local, sustainable and nutritious. For more information, visitwww.weaversway.coop.