Paws & More Paws Dog Expo is coming to Raleigh Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 26-27, featuring canine competitions and demonstrations, a dog parade, live entertainment, food, pet product vendors, and children’s activities.
Dog handlers can upload images of their four-legged performers to the expo’s website to compete in search for the event’s mascot. Anyone can vote for their favorite nominee. Winners will be announced Saturday.
Admission is $12 for the expo, which will take place at the Raleigh Springs Civic Center, 3384 Austin Peay Highway. Children 2 years old and younger will be admitted for free.
“Dogs must be well-mannered, fully vaccinated and just cute,” said Alexander Jones, president and creative director of Anderson & Alexander, the event production agency.
Food trucks and pet related businesses will be on site. Blues recording artist Ashley Ave will perform and host the event.
The civic center, which occupies the former site of Raleigh Springs Mall, is part of a broader redevelopment strategy for the area. Event organizers selected this location to draw more people to a part of the city that was nearly desolate less than a decade ago.
“With so many improvements happening on the Austin Peay corridor, we want to help showcase what they are doing in the Raleigh area — combining commerce and community,” said Jones.
For tickets, mascot voting, volunteer opportunities, sponsorships, booth rental and the event schedule, visit PawsAndMorePaws.com.
“They do events like this in other parts of the country, but I am not aware of anything of this kind done here in Memphis,” Jones said. “There are pet expos for specific breeds of dogs, but they don’t do a general dog expo for the public and families.”
