Dog Days of Summer packs them in
A warm September day helped drive attendance to the second Dog Days of Summer festival in downtown Milton.
Hosted by Inn The Doghouse on Chestnut Street, the day featured live music, food trucks, games for kids, drink vendors, merchants, and, of course, dogs up for adoption from Doggone Happy Animal Rescue. The rescue brought about 10 dogs to the festival, and all of them ended up getting adopted. The event drew a little more than 700 people.
Inn The Doghouse founders Annette Babich and Mal Meehan were thrilled with the turnout, especially after last year’s festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think people saw the nice weather and decided to come out,” Babich said. She said advance tickets sold were between 350 and 400, with the remainder as walk-ups the day of the event.
The festival featured brews from Brimming Horn Meadery, Dogfish Head and Big Oyster Brewing, with performances by Hot Sauce, Lower Case Blues, Pawnshop Roses and The J.C. Andersen Band. There were also food trucks, a bouncy house, face painting and balloon animals by Mr. Chuckles.
“I think the vibe and the energy are so much better this year,” Babich said. “People want to come out.”
The event raised money for Doggone Happy Animal Rescue, Milton Fire Department and Milton Community Food Pantry. Meehan and Babich described the festival as Milton’s only block party, and they enjoy how their event fits in with Milton’s other festivals.
“The great thing about Milton is it really can be a festival town. With Dog Days, Zombie Fest, it’s really becoming that kind of festival town,” Meehan said.
