Furfest returns to Strathmore

By John Watson Local Journalism initiative Reporter

After a hiatus due to COVID-19 concerns, Furfest returned to Strathmore on Feb. 12 for its third iteration and according to Kyla Janes, it’s here to stay. 

Janes, who owns Alpine View Pet Spa, organized the market for vendors catering to both bipedal and quadrupedal audiences. 

“Furfest basically is just something fun to get out with your dogs and be social. We’ve got a play yard set up so that if your dog is social, they can come in and play. It’s just a fun outing for in the middle of winter,” said Janes.

“I just thought it would be really fun to have a local shopping market. I went to a playfest in the city and you could bring your dog and there were dog vendors and I thought that was great. There was nothing (like that) out here, so I just jumped on it.”

Janes explained the market had been busy since it opened on the day of its operation. Previous iterations of the market saw over 200 dogs and more than 1,800 people through the doors and the hope was to once again hit those numbers. 

In the operational years since its launch, Strathmore’s Furfest has nearly doubled in size from 15 vendors at its inaugural year to 27 in 2022. 

“For the table fees, it all just goes to basically cover the (building) rental and then any money that we raise for the charities we have, (being) Parachutes for Pets and Happy Cat Sanctuary and Rescued Paws, gets donated at the end,” added Janes.

Further, there was no formal admittance fee to get into the market, but patrons were asked to make donations for the food bank, for Happy Cat Sanctuary, or of cash to support the cause prior to entry. 

Though Janes did not specify a fundraising goal, she explained it made for a much better experience for people to be out and about shopping with their pets and being in person to talk about rescuing animals.

“Just being able to advertise and see everybody in person and not all this virtual stuff is much more personable when you can come and actually have a conversation face-to-face, especially when you’re working with rescue stuff,” said Janes.

“It can be really tough when you’re just doing things (over) email and not being able to talk to somebody about what they want for a dog, what they need for a dog or if they need to surrender it.”

Locals can look forward to Furfest becoming an annual event, with different charity and rescue organizations being supported by each future iteration.