Sweet Pea Festival of the Arts Annual Parade Gone to the Dogs

Bozeman, MT—For the first time in history, Sweet Pea Festival of the Arts is hosting a Dog Parade. This year’s Dog Parade will take place within the Festival’s annual parade, occurring Saturday morning during the Festival. The Parade follows the Sweet Pea Run and Children’s Run. Earlier this year, Sweet Pea representatives met with local company West Paw, to find out how best to incorporate Bozeman’s canine friends into the Festival. While understanding that dogs are not permitted at the Festival itself, West Paw suggested the inclusion of the dogs in the Parade and volunteered to sponsor it. The entry fee is $20 per dog with proceeds benefiting “Working Dogs for Conservation,” the world’s leading conservation detection dog organization. Sweet Pea encourages canine participants to come dressed in their most creative finery; donning the Festival’s namesake flower is a bonus. This year’s Dog Parade is a trial run. If successful, the Festival hopes to make the Dog Parade an annual event replete with prizes. Dogs must be well-behaved, able to withstand the stimulus of a large crowd, and tolerant of other dogs. For a complete list of rules and regulations, or to register your pooch for this year’s Dog Parade, please visit the Festival website at www.sweetpeafestival.org

ABOUT SWEET PEA FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS: The Sweet Pea Festival is a three-day festival of the arts held in Bozeman, Montana, since 1978. Festival dates are always the first full weekend in August with other events, such as Chalk on the Walk and The Bite of Bozeman starting off the festivities of Sweet Pea Week. The festival includes everything from music, theatre and dance, to children’s activities, arts and crafts vendors from Bozeman and around the country, and adult painting workshops. The Sweet Pea Festival is committed to its mission statement of “promoting and cultivating the arts.” Hundreds of volunteers run and organize this annual event, a testament to the community’s desire for its ongoing success. All monies raised above what is needed to operate the festival are given back to the community in the form of grants for the arts, art education, and special projects in the Bozeman area. “Where art and community meet.”