Previously known as Alexandria Love Your Pet Day, Paws in the Park is a FREE, fun-filled day for the whole family (including pets), featuring entertainment, activities, animal-themed vendors, and, of course, a lot of adorable adoptable! Paws in the Park celebrates the love our community has for animals, with a whole lot of fun on the side. Thousands have enjoyed this event in previous iterations, and this year promises to be the biggest and most exciting festival yet. Proceeds from this event benefit animals across the community through the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria.

A Wide Variety of Food and Beverages

Paws in the Park will offer a wide-ranging food court, including a beer garden. Bring your picnic blanket and enjoy offerings from several local food and drink vendors.

Parking

Old Town, Alexandria, offers a variety of parking opportunities, especially on Sundays.

How They Started

In 2017, a group of West End pet businesses got together to come up with a way to help the Alexandria community celebrate its love of pets. They worked with the Mayor and City Council to declare the first annual Alexandria Love Your Pet Day and then hosted a block party to commemorate this announcement. The inaugural event engaged 30+ local businesses and a dozen non-profits, attracting over 300 attendees with 100+ dogs who enjoyed a variety of food truck fare and children’s entertainment. Over the years, our event has grown bigger and better.

As a reminder, this is a free event open to the community; well-behaved leashed pets are welcome to attend (no flexi-leashes, please).