North Bend’s Festival at Mount Si pet pageant, trick contest promises a wagging good time

Published 3:09 pm Tuesday, August 6, 2013

You already know how great your pet is, but why not let everyone see it for themselves? Bring your critter to the Festival at Mount Si, and let him or her strut their stuff in the Amazing Pet Contest, starting at 4 p.m. Saturday at the lawn tent.

“It’s very casual, you just bring your pet. There’s no pre-registration, no fee, it’s just a fun time,” says pet contest coordinator and event emcee Kathy Paulus.

Pets, and their owners, can compete in two categories, Best Trick and Best Costume, so almost any pet can enter.

A panel of judges will award trophies to the first-place winner of each category, and second and third-place winners will receive ribbons. Prizes include gift baskets from dog-bone-bakery Paws-a-licious.

Paulus is a longtime volunteer, and volunteer coordinator, with the festival, but new to the pet contest. She decided to run it after a mix-up last year that almost cancelled the contest permanently.

“We were thinking of dropping it,” she explained, “but to me it’s a family event, so I asked how hard could it be?” Then she laughed heartily, adding “I’m a delegator!”

Paulus praised the many people who have helped her put the event together, especially the teens who will serve as judges for the event, saying “I like to bring teenagers into doing some fun things for the festival.”

Everyone will share in the fun Saturday, whether or not their tricks or costumes succeed, because Paulus says, “It has to be absolutely positive the entire time. And you have to appreciate what effort everybody has put into their trick or their costume … you have to make it fun and positive, so they’re happy to be there.”