Belmont Shore-Naples|Local Event
Benny's Birthday and Love Your Pet Party
On Saturday, August 22, Seal Beach’s biggest animal-expo event of the year will take place when Helen Sanders CatPAWS hosts “Benny’s Birthday & Love Your Pet Party” from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the Seal Beach Marina Community Center, 151 Marina Drive, Seal Beach between 1st and 5th streets, near the pickleball courts.
Admission is just $20 and includes a catered lunch and cake. Kids 12 and under are free.
The annual festival honors Benny the Cat, who suffered severe abuse during kittenhood but with the help of Long Beach Animal Care Services and Helen Sanders CatPAWS was rescued. He recovered to become a loving, trusting cat. Benny, with his crooked smile (attributed to the broken jaw and neurological damage he endured) has become a bit of a celebrity, with his own Facebook and Instagram pages (@bennythecatsjustice). He also won the Long Beach’s Favorite Pet contest in the cat category this year!
Benny’s Birthday & Love Your Pet Party is a day of joy to celebrate not only Benny but also all the animals we love! There will be adoptable cats from CatPAWS, adoptable dogs from Long Beach Animal Care Services, therapy dogs from Orange County Animal Allies, and rescued rabbits from Sunshine Rabbit Center in Long Beach. The Animal Assistance League of OC will be on hand to provide information about their many animal-aid programs.
Benny’s party includes music, games and prizes for kids, arts & crafts and special surprise guests. There will be complimentary lemonade courtesy of Raising Cane’s plus free popcorn from Kernel Tom.
Over 20 amazing vendors will offer pet services that include portraits, photography, cat sitting, pet clothing and accessories. There will be clothing and accessories for humans too, like artisan jewelry and soaps, organic hair and skin care products, jellies, jams and books.
Raffle items include gift cards and products from local merchants, baskets, pet supplies and a special bonus raffle: roundtrip airfare on JetBlue to anywhere in the world the airline flies. Two pairs of roundtrip tickets will be raffled during the event.
Tickets are available at the door or skip the line and purchase in advance at www.helensanderscatpaws.com or by clicking HERE. For liability reasons, please leave your pets at home.
All money raised at Benny’s Birthday & Love Your Pet Party go toward the life-saving work of Helen Sanders CatPAWS, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to saving cat lives and helping the people who love them. They offer a foster-based rescue and adoption program, low-cost spay/neuter services, pet therapy for seniors in assisted living, pet loss grief support and more.