Enjoy Puppy Bowl at Red Apple Farm in Phillipston before settling in for the big game
It’s the ultimate "tail"-gating party before the big game this weekend.
The Red Apple Farm’s Brew Barn in Phillipston will host its second annual Puppy Bowl from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 11. The event is aimed at providing dog enthusiasts and their four-footed friends a chance to get out and get active before settling in before the TV later in the day to watch the Super Bowl.
“We have a lot of regular customers who have dogs, especially on Sundays, so we wanted to make (Super Bowl Sunday) fun for our dog customers as well,” said Brew Barn manager Jess Voutila, who said last year’s event had proven to be a popular one for the farm. “Everybody loved it – they dressed the dogs up in football shirts and jerseys.”
The farm is a popular spot for dogs at any time of the year, so organizing a themed winter get-together was an obvious next step, according to Al Rose, who along with his wife, Nancy, owns the Red Apple Farm.
“This, along with our traditional pet photos with Santa, is just a nice way to cater to many of our customers at the farm who have special family members who have four paws,” Rose said. “And this is just a nice, fun thing to do in the winter.”
No organized game, just fun
To be clear, the event will not feature an organized sporting event for the dogs, but there will be trails and play areas, Rose said. Owners will be required to keep their pets on a leash.
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“The dogs will be able to walk on the trails, socialize, and meet other dogs,” Voutila explained. “We don’t have a dog park in town, so this is a nice chance for dogs to play with other dogs.”
Vendors will include Pet Bandanas by Rosie, PAWSitive Pantry, Nason’s Naturals All-Natural Dog Treats, Wicked Bare Gourmet Doggy Treats, Unmistaken Stars Farm Sanctuary, Pup Cups at the Brew Barn, and a “trading card” pet photo area.
Rose said it is likely that the Puppy Bowl event will become an annual Super Bowl weekend tradition at the farm.
“We love dogs here at the farm,” Rose said, adding that cats were discouraged from attending the event. “We do have two farm cats but I don’t think they’ll participate in the event.”
More vendors could be invited to the event, depending on the forecasted weather conditions, according to Rose.
“We’ll just have to call an audible,” he said.
Red Apple Farm becoming popular winter destination
The farm is becoming a winter go-to destination for many residents in the area, especially with the popularity of its Winter Lights display, which drew sold-out crowds during its second year last December, according to Rose.
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“We pretty much tripled in attendance from last year, but we also had a longer season because we started earlier,” he said. “And we’re already planning to get bigger and better for next year."
This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Puppy Bowl at Red Apple Farm in Phillipston to feature trail walks
