It was 20 years ago when the Voorhees Animal Orphanage held its first-ever Woofstock Festival.
The event was contained entirely on the front lawn of the VAO’s facility on Cooper Road and featured just a few vendors and local animal rescues.
Now, two decades later, the VAO’s largest annual fundraiser is back once again for its 20th year, and volunteers and board members with the orphanage are hoping this year might be the biggest and best yet.
On Sept. 24, Woofstock returns to Connolly Park from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Like years past, the event will feature a wide array of activities for pets and pet lovers, such as vendors, food trucks, K-9 demonstrations, basket raffles, games and more.
According to VAO volunteer and Woofstock organizer Jenn Bailey, who also serves as secretary of the VAO board of directors, a week out from the festival the VAO had already registered more than 75 crafters and vendors and more than two dozen rescues.
Also set to return are some of the festival’s more notable and well-received attractions, such as animal communicator Elizabeth Severino, master chef Joseph Poon, the mummers of the Joseph A. Ferko string band and local musician Sarah James of the Sarah James Music Foundation.
Bailey said Camden County has also once again signed on as a presenting sponsor of the event and provided the festival with a county-owned stage setup, and County Line Veterinary Hospital will also be at the event to provide $25 pet micro-chipping.
Fun for the whole family will also be available with face painting and kids craft tables.
“This is our biggest fundraiser … aside from our municipal contracts, the rest of our funds come from donations and fundraisers, and this is our biggest one,” Bailey said. “We depend on this basically to survive.”
Bailey noted this year’s event comes at a time when the VAO has embarked on its capital campaign to raise $1.6 million to replace the VAO’s current facility with a new building.
Although the VAO was founded in 1988, the organization has no central building, and instead operates out of multiple outdated sheds and structures throughout its grounds on Cooper Road.
While the VAO serves as the community shelter for Voorhees and 14 other Camden County municipalities, the county does not provide the VAO with regular funds or a building as it does with the Camden County Animal Shelter.
“We’re your local community shelter, we really are, and this really does benefit us. I can’t stress enough, it’s Camden County and us, and we split the county, so anybody in Voorhees whose dog gets lost, it’s coming here. We are open intake for the 15 municipalities we serve,” Bailey said.
Admission to the event is a suggested $2 donation.
All money raised will go toward the VAO and its mission to help animals. The VAO also requests those who bring a dog to the event to not use a retractable leash.
For more information about Woofstock or the VAO, visit www.vaonj.org/woofstock.
