Creatures Great & Small Festival set for Sept. 21
Contributed by Alexander Stone
Two of Fluvanna County’s leading animal rescue groups will be joining nine others from throughout Central Virginia at the third annual Creatures Great & Small Festival being held on Sept. 21 at the Scottsville Pavilion. Caring for Creatures Animal Sanctuary and the Fluvanna Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) will both be showcasing kittens and puppies ready for adoption or fostering.
This third annual Creatures Great & Small Festival will also have on display many other rescued animals. There will be goats and a pony from Feel Better Farm, horses and pigs from Gallastar Equine Rescue, a mini-donkey from the Madison-Greene Humane Society, Shetland sheepdogs from Northern Virginia Sheltie Rescue and more. In total, 11 groups will be gathering from Lovingston, Waynesboro, Palmyra, Charlottesville, Esmont, Troy, and Ruckersville to participate in this once-a-year animal rescue showcase.
The festival will also offer visitors many other activities. They can bring their pets to an ongoing Blessing of the Animals from noon to 4 p.m. hosted by Pastor Laura Stratton from the Scottsville United Methodist Church. They can view outstanding wildlife art by painter Marti Reed of the Shenandoah Valley Art Center and bid in a silent auction for one of her masterful creations. They can cast their votes in a Best Festival Exhibit contest. They can enjoy tasty food in a covered picnic-like setting while listening to live music performed by Four Hits and a Miss from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.. And they can take advantage of numerous opportunities for animal selfie photos and meet-and-greets with creatures at several petting pens.
A five-dollars-a-ticket festival mega-raffle will be held to benefit the exhibiting groups. Prizes will be gift certificate bundles worth $250, $150 and $100. The raised funds will be distributed at the end of the day to the groups based on the ballot results of the Best Festival Exhibit contest.
The third annual Creatures Great & Small Festival is being organized by the Scottsville-based James River Good Works Group. “We were very happy with last year’s festival results,” said Group President Stephanie Hogan. “We’re looking forward to doing even more to help abandoned and abused animals with this year’s festival,” she added.
Admission to the festival is free, and pets are welcome. For more info, go to james-river-good-works-group.square.site.
