Events in Columbus: Bark Bash Dog Festival at Prairie Oaks Metro Park
Thousands of dogs and their owners enjoyed a fun day at the first Bark Bash dog festival in Columbus.
Thousands of puppies panted and played Saturday afternoon at the Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks’ first Bark Bash dog festival.
Visitors could browse wares from 80 vendors, watch dog agility shows, hop on a paddleboard with their dog, splash in a lake and socialize with other dogs – all at Prairie Oaks Metro Park.
Sean Colopy of Hilliard brought his Bernadoodle, Bailey, to the Bark Bash after hearing about it from a friend. He was particularly interested in the event’s dog beach, where dogs chased each other, swam and fetched balls well into the afternoon.
“(Bailey) loves the water. He’s addicted, so to speak,” Colopy said.
The Bark Bash replaced Metro Parks’ old annual dog event, WAG! Fest. A marketing firm that Metro Parks worked with to organize WAG! Fest was unable to participate this year, so the parks decided to host a new festival, said Jill Snyder, Metro Parks’ visitor engagement manager.
“We knew that the people of Central Ohio would want an event like this. We knew it would be an important part of our summer, so we really wanted to make sure the tradition stayed alive,” she said.
According to Snyder, there were probably 10,000 to 15,000 dogs and their owners attending the festival on Saturday afternoon.
One of the dogs present, the Australian Shepherd Crosley, performed an agility show for the visitors, jumping over poles, climbing ramps and running through a tunnel.
Crosley’s owner, Holly Hauser of Asheville, started training dogs in agility about eight years ago, she said. Now she travels around the country with her dogs, entering them in competitions.
“It’s a lot of fun,” she said.
Bark Bash is one of the largest dog events in Central Ohio and is notable for being free and open to the public, Snyder said.
@NathanRHart
