Fido Friendly Winter Festivals

Doesn’t everyone love a great winter festival? It’s such a wonderful way to break up the monotony of winter routines. Even Fido can get into the fun of many festivals. Here is a sampling of some of the dog-friendly events held during the winter in the US.

What other winter festivals include dog-focused events?


Annual Winter Carnival (Sandpoint, Idaho)

Every year in the dead of winter since 1973, Sandpoint, Idaho, cooks up a sure antidote to cabin fever. It’s the Sandpoint Winter Carnival, pure fun celebrating the best of the snowy season.

Three dozen or so fun community events are held during the ten-day carnival run, including a parade of lights, sleigh rides, a cornhole competition, fireworks, a pub crawl, music all around town, and their capstone event, the K9 Keg Pull.

Photo by @matt__weber__


Annual Doggie Street Festival (Phoenix, Arizona in winter; San Diego, California in the fall)

Billed as the “West’s largest adopt-a-thon and pet celebration”, these dog-friendly events include music, yummy treats for your dog, vet tips, pet products and services, kids’ art areas, speakers, contests and auctions. The events are designed to promote public awareness and educate people on issues of responsible adoption, foster, spay/neuter and conscientious pet guardianship.

Photo by @DoggieStreetFestival


Fido Fest (Santee, California)

Now in its seventh year of celebrating dogs, Santee’s Fido Fest is a fun event where pet parents and their canine companions have the opportunity to participate in lots of activities, such as “arfs & crafts” (including doggie temporary tattoos!), an interactive zone (agility course and off-leash tennis ball mania) and contests (a doggie cake walk, costume contest, smallest dog, largest dog, and best trick competitions). You can even get your pet microchipped and licensed at this festival thanks to participation by the local Humane Society. Donations of doggie items are collected to benefit local non-profit shelters. They are expecting at least 2,500 attendees this year.


This list is probably just the tip of the iceberg.

What other winter festivals include dog-focused events?

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Not too many canine focussed winter festivals in Canada, which doesn’t surprise :dog: :snowflake: … except the sledding kind of course, but plenty of opportunities to enjoy the Canadian winter months

Have you heard of Carnaval de Québec or Winterlude and wondered what they were all about? Or did you ever wonder if there were other winter festivals across Canada? Keep reading and you can discover all about different festivals throughout the Canadian Provinces and Territories. See how winter plays a large part in Canadian culture and history.

If you are a lover of winter and the outdoors, you will definitely want to check out some of these.https://www.brightsparktravel.ca

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