What a weekend!
Thank you to everyone who came out and took part in NewfStock 2018, it was a resounding success!
photo by Angela |
Photo by Lauren |
There were a few hairy moments on Friday, and I'm not just talking about the dogs. With storms and tornados whipping through the province many attendees travelled through rough conditions to get to Bancroft to discover no power, heavy rains, and high winds throughout the town. Newf lovers are a tough and hardy bunch and everyone made the best of it!
Fun times at the swim date Photo credit Allison |
Goofy dogs! Photo cred Allison |
Finn's face pretty much sums it up! Photo cred, Allison |
By the time our Pizza Party rolled around the storms had ended, power was restored to most of the town, and we could have some fun. About 80 people joined us for food and drinks, we met many new friends and enjoyed catching up with old pals we hadn't seen in a while.
Saturday morning arrived quickly and volunteers in surrounding areas were still without power. They loaded the vehicles up with the help of flashlights on a very early start. I need to give extra high praise to Erica from Ferghus and Company who survived a frightening experience on Friday evening. A tornado whipped through her community, bringing a tree down on her car (which she was in!), and sending barns flying overhead into her yard. We are so glad that Erica, her family and neighbours all survived unscathed. Being the dedicated, hard-working, and amazing person that she is, she picked herself up, cleaned herself off, loaded up a vehicle and got to NewfStock with a smile on her face and did an incredible job of running our entire game centre. More about the games later... but suffice to say, Erica wins VOLUNTEER OF THE EVENT for her incredible dedication! If you are in the Kinburn area, her business Ferghus and Company is THE place to go for all things dog—from classes and courses to boarding and daycare, an indoor dog gym, grooming and supplies and so much more.
Photo from Ferghus and Co |
Our morning at the park started extra early with an army of volunteers working like a fine-oiled machine to put up tents, set up booths and get everything ready for the day. Power was still out at the park, but was miraculously restored JUST IN TIME for the band to do their soundcheck and kick off the event! Phew! With clear skies in the forecast, we knew we were in for a fabulous day!
Cash and Cassidy working the kissing booth like champs! |
This quick video shows a shot of the park and some of the action!
The day began with our awesome MCs Ashleigh (you may have recognized her from TV shows like the Marilyn Denis show, CityLine, and more) and of course, the always hilarious Mike cracking up the crowd and getting everyone ready for our big day. They kept the event running on schedule all day long, ran contests, helped with the games, made everyone laugh during the raffle, and as usual did an amazing job of running the show! Thanks to both of them!
We kicked off the parade, and with dry-skies, everyone had a smile on their face and dance in their step! This year Mabel, a 3-legged rescue Newf, led the parade pulling a cart! Such an amazing girl she is! Everyone joined in on the fun as dogs of all breeds, big and small, paraded around the park to celebrate rescues and the people who love them. What a sight to see!Mike and Ash |
Our Meet the Newfs booth was a busy spot, with various Newfs adopted from our program (and their owners) dropping by to greet attendees and share their stories. It was heartwarming to look back over the last 10 years and reminisce about the nearly 300 Newfoundland Dogs who have come through our foster program.
Our Seminar Area was a bustle of activity all day long. RVT Lauren ran two seminars. First, a conditioning seminar (new this year), then a Skin, Ears and Coat seminar.
Kaila ran our always popular grooming seminar. Tami and Peggy ran another new seminar about Training Tools. In case you missed these seminars, or you want to review notes, here are the links to handy online outlines:
Newf Friends Skin Issue Treatment Protocol
Collar, leash and tools seminar notes
Working Dog Activity notes
Collar, leash and tools seminar notes
Working Dog Activity notes
Other handy resources
In the Demo Section of the event, Peggy and Kaila once again put on a great show offering the draft-work and water-rescue demos. These are always a crowd favourite and are met with much cheering and applause!
12 month old Viola, adopted from Newf Friends, earned her CGN |
Our merchandise, auction and raffle booths were hopping all day long. We had some amazing items available and everyone left with armloads of awesome finds! Thanks to all the donors who gave such unique items for our event.
Throughout the park, local vendors could be found selling their goods and offering information about their services. Many great new connections were made!
Our volunteer photographer Eric Weiner took photos of attendees to be used in our 2020 calendar. Pics to follow!
Our volunteer photographer Eric Weiner took photos of attendees to be used in our 2020 calendar. Pics to follow!
Our fabulous Game Centre hosted by Ferghus and Co was a huge hit as always, with loads of great games to play, prizes to be won and more! Check out the live feed from the local radio station Moose 97.7 FM (click here) of the Musical Chairs game!
Once again, we had special awards given out this year...
The award for the person who travelled the farthest to attend NewfStock went to Margaret and her Newf Daysie who travelled all the way from Corner Brook, Newfoundland to attend!
14-year-old Cubby Photo by Black DogBarnyard |
Many attendees collected pledges in support of Newf Friends, and the top two pledge collectors received some special gifts. The gift (a gorgeous leather backpack donated by Roots Canada) for the people who brought in the most pledges was given to Marissa and Dave who raised a phenomenal $6232! Simply amazing, thank you both!
Our parent organization, HART, had their Grand for Growlers raffle draw for the $1000 cash prize, and the winner was Beth Pepin of Bancroft. Congrats Beth!
We wrapped the day up with our team of volunteers up on stage for a round of applause for doing such a tremendous job. What a fabulous team, it's an honour to be part of such a dedicated, kind-hearted, fun-loving group of people who give of themselves so freely. Thank you to each of you for all you do. Newf Friends is so lucky to have such an incredible team.
On Sunday about 25 people and 16 dogs came out to the beautiful Bancroft Eagles Nest Park to take part in some photos and go for a walk. It was a gorgeous morning, the perfect temperature for the Newfs and the views from the lookout were stunning. What a wonderful way to end a fantastic weekend.
Our parent organization, HART, had their Grand for Growlers raffle draw for the $1000 cash prize, and the winner was Beth Pepin of Bancroft. Congrats Beth!
Visitors to NewfStock |
Overlooking Bancroft from the platform at Eagle's Nest |
Bancroft Eagles Nest Park Photo Credit Black Dog Barnyard |
Thanks once again to everyone who came out and took part in our weekend. See you in 2020!
Sandra
At the Eagles Nest Lookout Photo credit Black Dog Barnyard |
At Brethour Lake Photo Credit Black Dog Barnyard |