After taking off 2023, Woofstock returned to Humboldt Bay on Saturday as humans and dogs alike enjoyed live music, vendors and treats at Halvorsen Park in Eureka. The largest dog festival in Humboldt County draws inspiration from the iconic Woodstock Music and Art Fair in Bethel, New York, in 1969 with three local bands hitting the stage to fill the park with music to accompany the sound of dog sniffs around the festival that has graced Humboldt County for more than a decade. “This is my first year doing Woofstock as an employee but I’ve come every other year as a guest before that,” said Patsy Winchester, office manager at Sequoia Humane Society.
“It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year. We have Mardi Cause which is another big one but this one is our bread and butter. We rely strictly on donations.
We don’t get any government funding or anything like that.” The festival is a crucial fundraiser for the no-kill shelter, which houses animals until it’s able to find a home for the pet as the Sequoia Humane Society doesn’t use euthanasia on their animals. Dogs of all breeds and sizes were in attendance, with a Woofstock requirement being that all dogs must be leashed.
But with new friends, plenty of snacks and live music kept all the dogs’ spirits high. “Today is a beautiful Humboldt day, we’re very excited. There’s been a great turnout so far and all the dogs are happy to be here,” Winchester said.
“No dog fights, I’ve hardly heard any barking, really.” The festival had a few adoptable dogs as they attempt to find homes for residents in the shelter, with the festival also having an “adoption van” filled with kittens luckily out of the way to not get any harassment from any dogs. Planning for Woofstock typically begins in April or May with a committee having two meetings a week to plan out the festival.
“Lots of meetings to prepare, preparation is so key,” Winchester said of the planning of Woofstock. “As soon as Mardi Cause is over, they move onto Woofstock.” Hundreds of dogs filled the park on Saturday, some happy to make new friends ,some likely overwhelmed by seeing so many of their own species for once, while nobody can be quite certain if dogs get to go to heaven, they can go to Woofstock, and who could ask for anything more?.
