Pet Rock Fest Announces 2017 Date, Move To Grafton

GRAFTON, MA — Pet Rock Fest is excited to announce that the 19th annual festival will, for the first time, take place at Wyman-Gordon in North Grafton.

This annual event will be held on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017, from noon to 5 p.m. on the grounds of the Wyman-Gordon plant, 244 Worcester St., North Grafton. With a move to this centrally-located and expansive venue, the event is sure to expand in numerous ways, drawing more attendees and participants.

The event features all of the popular attractions, but will include additions to our offerings: from food to vendors to events to nonprofit participation. And, of course, Pet Rock Fest continues to put the spotlight on the animal welfare organizations of New England that work hard to promote kindness to animals.

Wyman-Gordon is eager to host the fest, and is welcoming Pet Rock Fest enthusiastically, as is the town of Grafton. Located conveniently to the Mass. Pike, Route 30, Route 146 and Route 122, the venue is super accessible from points east, west, north and south. Also, the venue offers a large, grassy, fenced-in event area, and thousands of parking spaces right on the premises. It is ideal for both people and animals.

Since Pet Rock Fest lost its venue at Quinsigamond Community College four years ago, the organization has been searching for a site that is centrally located and easy to access, with plenty of onsite parking.

“Although Becker College has been generous with their cooperation, the partnership was a good fit, and the entire town, including the Leicester Police Department, could not have been more welcoming and hard-working, the area just did not work out,” said Founding Partner Jeannie Hebert. “The feedback we received from the public was overwhelming that the parking situation was causing us to lose attendees.”

“We had been diligently seeking a permanent home since losing our home at QCC,” echoed Founding Partner Charlene Arsenault, “and we couldn’t be more excited about this move. With its location, size, parking and amenities, it’ll allow us to expand Pet Rock Fest in the way in which we always envisioned. This shift should easily complement growth for our nonprofit organization, which ultimately results in being able to help many more animals.”

There is plenty of space, and beyond, to bring back all of our attractions, including K9 demos, an agility course, the Frisbee dog team, live music, the Adoptable Pet Parade, Amateur Dog Contest, vegetarian vendors and our wonderful sponsors and animal welfare organizations.

“At the end of the day, we created Pet Rock to generate funding for animal welfare organizations,” agreed Hebert. “If, with all the efforts, Charlene and I and the amazing team of volunteers put into the production of the festival are not going to reach that goal, we have to look elsewhere. After much searching and negotiating, we really believe we have finally found it. We applaud the team at Wyman-Gordon, especially Ronnie Brooks and Roberto Tedesco, for listening to us and realizing the good work accomplished over the years at the Pet Rock Festival and allowing us to hold the event here so we can grow to provide even more funding to support the animals.”

Pet Rock Fest will send updates soon with event schedules, attractions and this year’s sponsors.

Pet Rock Fest features live music, performances and games for kids, author signings, Pups in the Air Frisbee Dog Team, doggie massages, photos of your pets, animal mascots, vegetarian food court, games for kids, contests for dogs, a cat photo contest, doggie massages, a doggie water park, demonstrations, exhibits, vendors and, most importantly, hundreds of nonprofit groups devoted to animal welfare causes. All animals.

Pet Rock Fest gives its proceeds to worthy animal related charities that support a variety of causes, from shelters to law reform to farm animal sanctuaries.

Celebrating more than 18 years, Pet Rock Fest is the largest event of its kind in the Northeast, an annual festival that promotes kindness to animals and responsible pet ownership. Pet Rock Fest, held in September each year, is a family festival that features guest speakers, vegetarian food, live music, games, events, a raffle, vendors, and hundreds of area animal welfare organizations. Pet Rock is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization. Donations are tax deductible.