Photo Courtesy of bcpa
CUTE COUPLE. This bride and groom may look unhappy, but it’s all for a good cause to benefit Broadway Center for the Performing Arts and Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County.
Broadway Center for the Performing Arts and Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County have joined forces to bring Tacomans a show unlike any other. On Saturday evening, June 7, the city’s cats, dogs, and their owners will have the chance to put their best paw forward to benefit animal and arts education for the annual Strut Your Mutt benefit competition.
The event will include a Pet Boutique and Pet Fashion Show at the Rialto Theatre in the city’s Theater District downtown.
Strut Your Mutt is the brainchild of Lynette Young, owner of Clip and Clean Pet Salon. She also serves on Humane Society’s board as vice president. She proposed the event for Tacoma after witnessing a similar event, a pet fashion show, in New York City, according to Kathleen Olson, executive director at Humane Society.
The first Strut Your Mutt was held last September at Banford and Banford in Fircrest. Olsen said that the capacity of the space was filled to overflowing.
“The room we held it in had a capacity of about 150, and over 200 showed up to the sold out event. We had people standing in the aisles between the chairs,” she said.
Olson also noted that the publicity was largely through word of mouth and posters put up in businesses in the city’s Proctor District.
The need for extra space was what encouraged Humane Society to partner up with the Broadway Center for this year’s event. This year will be the first the two organizations have collaborated for Strut Your Mutt.
Altogether, there will be 49 dogs, two cats, and 26 human models participating in the fashion show. A variety of breeds across the board will be represented, from the smaller Yorkshire terrier to the much larger Newfoundland dogs.
When asked if there would be any issues as far as licensing of pets by participants, Olson held this was not going to be a problem.
“Licensing is a non-issue for this groups of dogs, because responsible owners spay, neuter, license, microchip and vaccinate their pets,” she said.
All in all, organizers from both Broadway Center and Humane Society have high hopes for Saturday’s turnout, noting the event’s success last year.
“[This will be a] fun event for anyone who loves pets and high fashion,” Olson said.
Strut Your Mutt will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Rialto Theatre with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased at the Broadway Center Box Office located on 9th and Broadway or by calling (253) 591-5894. To purchase online at any time or for information about more upcoming events, visit http://www.broadwaycenter.org.
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