What do you get when you combine dogs, bluegrass, and beer? Another festival here in Fort Collins, of course.
This isn’t just any festival, however: It’s the first annual Bark and Bluegrass Festival, debuting this month and promising to provide loads of fun for humans and their furry friends.
“This could be a raging success or a total trainwreck,” laughed Jeff Reichert, publisher of Paw Pages, a Northern Colorado magazine geared towards animal lovers.
Reichert’s passion for music and animals birthed the idea of organizing a festival to benefit local non-profit organizations.
“With the economy in the dumpster the past few years, non-profits are really struggling to raise the funds they need to survive,” Reichert said. “I wanted to help in a major way.” Reichert started the Paw Pages last year in an effort to provide a resource for animal enthusiasts in Northern Colorado. With an initial run of 25,000 copies, the Paw Pages was an instant hit.
“The CSU Department of Animal Sciences alone established a huge readership. People come in from all over the country to study or obtain animal care. They take the magazine with them and read it on the plane on the way home,” Reichert observed. “We get lots of response from all over the country, really.”
Realizing that he had an influential platform to work from, Reichert felt a calling to take his mission a bit further and try his hand at fundraising. He has been working around the clock lately to launch the idea. He started thinking about it last fall and once he started putting the word out, it spread like wildfire.
“Suddenly all kinds of people were on board,” Reichert said. “Which was good because I had some idea of what to do but it’s sort of like planning a wedding for 5,000 people.”
While there’s no actual wedding planned for this event (though it wouldn’t be unheard of, as Reichert and his equally music-loving wife married at the Mishawaka five years ago), there will be nearly 100 animal-related vendors, five food booths and hours of bluegrass entertainment. Local bands such as Motorhome, The Honey Gitters, Mountain Standard Time and The Holler! will grace the stage throughout the day, but the festival’s main attraction will definitely be the Drew Emmitt Band.
Emmitt, the founder of popular jam band Leftover Salmon is a master of the strings, including the mandolin, guitar, fiddle, and banjo. He also plays the harmonica and the flute, and his singing voice is infectious. His presence at Barks and Bluegrass will surely draw the kind of crowd that Reichert is hoping for. “2,000 [people] would be a success. Anything more than that would be awesome!” Reichert has high expectations, though. Remember, all this fun is for a good cause. Proceeds from the festival will go to the Larimer County Humane Society and the Animal House Rescue.
“This is a way to engage the community with animal issues and organizations that support them. People will have the opportunity to become involved, by either volunteering their time and skills or [by] learning how to prevent pet over-population, for example,” Reichert said. Reichert plans on promoting similar events around the state in the future. Partnering with other organizations, like the Denver-based Wags & Menace Foundation, he hopes to provide a source of funding and marketing for not just animal-centered non-profits, but for all organizations that need assistance in providing services to their clients.
“The idea is [that] each event will generate funds for that particular zip code,” Reichert explained. Plus, many more people will be able to enjoy the event. This year, 40 women from Vail are renting a bus to attend the Fort Collins event. And they are bringing their dogs, of course.
“Hopefully we’ll come to them one of these summers,” Reichert added. “The goal for now is to have a successful first event.”
With all the exciting things planned, it’s likely that The First Annual Bark and Bluegrass Festival will be a huge hit in this pet-friendly, festival-loving town.
When: Saturday, July 31st from
Noon – 8:30 pm
Where: Civic Center Park, Old Town
Fort Collins
Price: Advanced tickets are $15
Tickets the day of the event are $20
The Line-up: The Honey Gitters
The Holler, Mountain Standard Time
Motorhome, The Drew Emmitt Band
Odell Brewery has joined in to be the official “Beer Sponsor” for the event.
4 Food Vendor Booths will be available to keep you well-fed throughout the day.
Dogs are welcome and encouraged to attend. They must be on leashes. Pets will also be available to hang out with for the day if you don’t have one of your own. Permanent pet adoption will be available as well.
For more information call Jeff Reichert at 970-219-0213
Follow Bark And Bluegrass festival on twitter at: Twitter.com/BarkAnBluegrass
Like Bark And Bluegrass festival on facebook at: Facebook.com/BarkAndBluegrass
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