Lots of wine sipping and tail wagging will be seen at the 10th annual Dog Days of Summer event this Saturday at See Ya Later Ranch winery.
The event is a fundraiser for the Okanagan chapter of the BC SPCA with admission by donation going to the cause and a silent auction with all proceeds going to the charity.
“People are invited along with their dogs to check out the 25 vendors that will be set up. We usually see about 400 people come to this event and just everybody brings their dog, so it is a dogfest for sure,” said Debbie House, assistant manager at See Ya Later Ranch.
A trade show of vendors will include booths with jewelry, DogTown Cafe from Okanagan Falls providing coffee samples, dog trainers, dog food companies and a holistic pet-health-care person.
This year the event has added live music with a group called Masonette (Shaine Rose Ireland and Dasha Duquette) from Vancouver playing throughout the day. Both of the artists started their singing careers in the world of classical training, but they perform and write in a variety of styles from jazz and blues to pop and rock. House said there also will be food and, of course, wine tasting during the Dog Days of Summer.
“Our tasting room is dog-friendly so if they want to come into the store they can and that goes all throughout the season,” said House.
A two-night, three day stay at Watermark Beach Resort in Osoyoos is up for grabs for the winner of the dog costume contest which starts at 3 p.m. Prizes are also available for those who take part in a raffle, where guests who get all the vendors to sign off on their pawsport will be entered to win a prize. Throughout the day there will also be dog training and dog agility demonstrations. The St. Johns Ambulance therapy dogs and their handlers will also be on hand mingling with the crowds to explain what service they provide.
See Ya Later Ranch has a long history of supporting the BC SPCA. The wines of See Ya Later celebrate the legacy of Major Hugh Fraser, who purchased the property in 1919. He was known for his kindness to his many four-legged friends who were ultimately laid to rest in a doggy cemetery that still exists at the ranch.
Today, See Ya Later supports the SPCA through a wine they produce called Jimmy My Pal, who was one of the Major’s dogs. For every bottle sold, 50 cents goes towards the SPCA. House said for the month of September See Ya Later is expanding that to all bottles of wine sold and upping the donation to $1. See Ya Later Ranch donates over $20,000 a year to the BC SPCA in cash and in-kind.
The Dog Days of Summer runs from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday at See Ya Later Ranch located on Green Lake Road in Okanagan Falls.