Panama City Beach hosts Paws in the Park, billed as 'signature event just for dogs'
PANAMA CITY BEACH — The Beach is gearing up to host an event specifically tailored for dogs and their owners.
From 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 1, Panama City Beach will host Paws in the Park at Conservation Park, allowing locals and their pups to connect, participate in contests and have a day devoted to their four-legged friends.
"Panama City Beach is blessed to have a lot of special events throughout the year, yet we realized there are none that we know of just for dog owners," Debbie Ingram, spokesperson for PCB, wrote in an email. "Our Dog Beach and dog parks are extremely popular with our residents and visitors, so we felt a signature event just for dogs and their owners would be something the community would welcome."
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Ingram said the event will be held at Conservation Park not only because it is dog friendly, but because it's free of traffic and boasts 2,900 acres for participants to enjoy.
The park is on the west end of the Beach, about one mile north of Panama City Beach Parkway (Back Beach Road) at the end of Griffin Boulevard.
"Conservation Park is known by many of our dog owners ... but we recognize that not everyone knows about this great recreational site, so this brings additional exposure," Ingram wrote. "It gives us a lot of room to spread out for the activities we have planned."
Closer look at the event
The event will feature a fashion show, talent show, ugliest dog contest and lookalike contest. There also will be K-9 demonstrations from the Panama City Beach Police Department and a one-mile trail run.
Along with contests, Paws in the Park will feature a variety of vendors. There will be free hot dogs provided by the Optimist Club of the Beaches, and free nail trims for dogs done by Nomadic Dog Training.
Ingram said the event is a great opportunity for residents to connect with local officials, and representatives of Cops N Kids, the Beach Police, Panama City Beach Fire Rescue, code enforcement, utilities, public works and City Hall will attend.
She hopes for it to garner at least 100 people.
"We saw that other communities across the state, and across the world for that matter, have specific activities for dogs and their owners," Ingram wrote. "These are really fun, family-friendly events, so we decided to start our own.
"This will be an opportunity for dog owners to connect with one another and build friendships based on mutual love for canines."
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Paws in the Park: Panama City Beach to host event at Conservation Park
