The air is growing cooler and the outdoor concert schedule is dwindling. We’ve all enjoyed the amazing summer outdoor activities Colorado has to offer, and some of us enjoy them even more with our canine companions by our side. If you love live music, good vibes, tasty brews and your best canine friend, The Dog Days of Summer is the event for you.
Enjoy all kinds of fun activities at The Watering Bowl with your doggy pal, with proceeds going to benefit the Denver Dumb Friends League. We interviewed Brian Garrett, creator of this awesome event, to discuss the inception, the activities and why he can’t wait to have everyone come together for a great cause!
303 Magazine: How did the idea for this event come about?
Brian Garrett: Simply enough I love dogs and bluegrass! It’s clear that many in the area share the same interests. As I got to know the owners of the Watering Bowl, I realized that this was the perfect venue for the celebration I had in mind. The indoor area has a large concert ‘bowl’ with two huge bars and the outdoor patio is massive, allowing furry friends to run around freely. I’m excited to offer an opportunity for bluegrass and dog lovers alike to extend the Dog Days of Summer just a bit with what I see as a ‘family get together’, a summer send off with our best friends!
Explain more about the festivities at the event.
We have so much going on at Dog Days! We have two stages with music all day long. We are joined by our headlining all-star group ‘Dog Days Bluegrass All-Stars’ featuring Chris Pandolfi and Andy Hall from Colorado’s own Infamous Stringdusters. They are joined by Tyler Grant and Adrian Engfer of The Grant Farm. We will have performances from: Uptown Toodeloo String Band, Hog Magundy, The Good Time Travelers, Sweet Lilies, The Holler, Cosmic Mesa and more!
The bar is fully stocked with draft, bottles and liquor. We are running specials on Ole’ Smokey Moonshine all day! Watering Bowl also has a fantastic menu of food and snacks available all day long. We’re also excited to bring in Living The Dream Brewery out of Littleton and they will be bringing some of their locally brewed beers for the crowd to enjoy.
Outside we have an igloo dedicated to art where a few local artists will be performing live art throughout the day. We will also be completing a 20-foot permanent mural during the event.We are joined onsite by Denver Dumb Friends League and are raffling off a ton of cool prizes to our attendees. Proceeds from this raffle will benefit DDFL.
We’re excited to be producing an event that is all about bringing people together. Our intent is to provide a space to roam free, have fun with dogs, enjoy music and relax!
Tell us a little more about DDFL and how this event benefits the organization.
Denver Dumb Friends League is the largest independent, nonprofit community-based animal shelter/humane society in the Rocky Mountain region, caring annually for as many as 24,000 lost and relinquished pets. From its pet shelters in Denver and Castle Rock, the organization provides lost and found services; foster and veterinary care for pets that are too young for adoption or are ill or injured; in-house training and socialization programs for cats, dogs, and rabbits; pet adoptions; humane education; and animal cruelty investigations in 41 counties.
We are giving to the Dumb Friends League in two ways:
1. If you are bringing your dog to the event we are suggesting a small donation at the door to the DFL
2. We’ve organized a raffle event in which we are raffling off a ton of cool prizes with proceeds also going to the DFL
How does the raffle work?
You can purchase tickets ahead of time at BeeJeeCo.com or at the event in person. A raffle ticket is $2 and gives you the chance to win one of over 40 prizes. All we need is a name and email and we don’t even need you to be present to win! Unlimited entries. $10 in raffle tickets gets you a free 11×17 event poster!
The prizes are awesome and have been donated by over 20 sponsors! We have tons of gift certificates, day care, boarding, grooming, dinners, beer, dog treats – the list goes on and on!
What are you most excited for with this event?
The goal of my event group has always been to bring people together, so that is always what I am most excited about! Except in this case, ‘people’ also means our pets and that makes it super special for us. I’m extremely excited and overwhelmed with all the community involvement especially from our major event sponsors U Lucky Dog, KGNU Radio, Living The Dream Brewery, Bogey’s Beer and Wine and about 20 other local businesses!
It’s amazing to see what dogs and bluegrass mean to people in our community. We’re excited to offer an opportunity to bring this huge family together and enjoy some music, art, K9 hijinx. All while giving back to the community, our pets and one another!
Tickets are $16 ahead and $20 at the door. Grab yours now! http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1844683