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Dog Days of Summer Festival to return Sept. 19

Masks, social distancing to be observed
July 6, 2020

Milton’s Dog Days of Summer Festival will return for a second year, this time with an extra hour and an extra band.

The festival will be held at Inn The Doghouse, 428 Chestnut St., Saturday, Sept. 19, from 2 to 7 p.m. Event founder Annette Babich said the festival will feature four bands, food vendors, craft beer and a dog adoption. Proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to three local charities.

“The first one was a lot of fun,” Babich said. “People said they liked it, and it's something we can do as an annual event.”

She said she and partner Mal Meehan were unsure whether they could hold the festival, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But when they saw that neighboring Dogfish Head was planning to hold its annual Dogfish Dash, they decided to move forward. 

Babich said the plan is to follow Centers for Disease Control guidelines for the festival. Those attending will have to wear masks - those without masks can purchase one at the entrance - on the festival grounds except for when eating and drinking. Social distancing protocols will be adhered to. Babich said there will be a separate entrance and exit, and vendor tents will be organized so travel routes are one-way. Handwashing stations will be located throughout the site, and those who enter will have to provide their name and address so any potential infections can be traced. Those who leave the festival grounds will not be allowed re-entry.

Babich said to allow for better social distancing, fewer food vendors were brought on in order to provide extra space. In addition, she said, there will be more arrows and directional signs around the site. 

“We’re going to make it fun, but also not packing the place,” Babich said. 

A new wrinkle this year is the festival will be extended by one hour, which will allow for one more band to perform. 

“We thought it ended too quickly last year,” Babich said. 

The inaugural festival featured 12 dogs being adopted and a combined $7,500 donated to three charities, in addition to $1,000 in groceries collected for Milton Community Food Pantry. 

Proceeds from this year’s festival will go to Doggone Happy Animal Rescue, Milton Community Food Pantry and Milton Chamber of Commerce. 

Tickets will be available for purchase at www.dogdaysofsummer.com in mid-August. Bands and food vendors are still to be announced. 

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