“Yes, we’ve thought we found our ‘forever home' several times, and each time we’ve meant it. We’re hopeful this year will finally be it,” Arsenault said.
“Finding the right venue has been a real challenge over the years. We’ve had several locations, starting with the Hebert Candy Mansion —our original home -for the first four or five years. It was a wonderful spot, but the festival grew so large that traffic and parking became major issues, and the town politely asked us to ‘move along, little doggies.' “
Other homes have included the Sturbridge Host Hotel, the former Becker College in Leicester,Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, and Wyman-Gordon fields in Grafton.
SAC Park, “Didn’t work out as hoped — mainly due to limited parking, and on top of that, we had heavy rain, which didn’t help,” Arsenault said.
Lancaster Fairgrounds Oct. 6 is not only a change of venue, but a change of time. The festival has usually been held the first Sunday after Labor Day.
“Now, we’re thrilled to be at the Lancaster Fairgrounds. It’s a bit farther from Worcester, and we had to adjust our usual date, but the venue is perfect for a festival of this size,” Arsenault said. “It’s a true fairground … with pavilions, a barn, a pond, lots of open space, electricity, and most importantly, plenty of parking. We couldn’t be more excited about this new location.”
Hebert concurred. “We are eternal optimists. We always think this is the one. But we have gone back and forth with this venue. The date never worked out, and as you can see, we had to move the date in order to hold Pet Rock this year. The pros outweigh the cons. Parking is not an issue here, and we have hired professional parking attendants. Humans get cranky when they can’t find a convenient parking space. We are not worried about it this year. A first for us,” Hebert said.
Both sides seem intent to make the arrangement work. “The Lancaster Fairgrounds is thrilled to welcome the Pet Rock Festival to our venue,” said Rose Darden, event coordinator for the Lancaster Fairgrounds and fair manager for the Bolton Fair, Inc. “The fairgrounds in October are absolutely beautiful and will be the perfect backdrop for this very worthwhile organization and their outstanding event. We look forward to a successful partnership for many years.”
Arsenault said, “Of course there are and will be some growing pains with such a big move, but ultimately, I think it'll be the best yet. I hope we'll be celebrating our 30th anniversary there.”
‘ You begin with passion and a cause‘ Pet Rock Fest Inc. was founded in 1999 as an animal welfare nonprofit and event, and organizers say it is now the largest animal festival in New England and a leading animal welfare organization. The nonprofit gives all its proceeds to animal-related charities that support various causes, from shelters to law reform to farm animal sanctuaries.
“The better the festival does, the more we make, and in turn, the more we can give,” Arsenault said. “None of us make a dime from it; it’s truly a labor of love. Knowing that the event’s success directly impacts the lives of animals and supports the incredible work of these organizations is incredibly fulfilling.”
In addition to being long-time animal advocates, Arsenault is editor of the Worcester Guardian and Hebert is president and chief executive officer of the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce.
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Remembering the early days of Pet Rock Fest, Arsenault said “You begin with passion and a cause you care deeply about, and you put it out there, but you’re left wondering: will it resonate? Will it stick? Will anyone pay attention? In our case, it really did.”
Now, “I often pause to look around during the event, and what I see is this incredible gathering of people and their dogs, all united for a single purpose: promoting kindness to animals. What makes the festival special is the diverse range of animal welfare groups — rescues, shelters, and advocacy organizations — that come together for one cause. It’s like their individual missions align with ours, and for that day, we all speak for the animals. Our tagline, ‘They can’t talk, so we will,' sums it up. That spirit of compassion is palpable, and it creates an atmosphere that’s both joyful and meaningful,” Arsenault said.
“This event primarily is to promote kindness,” said Hebert. “The people who attend are animal people. Most of them have rescue companion animals and will look to shelters and rescues for their next best friend. It is a group of like-minded individuals and families. The address of the event is irrelevant.”
‘Help in animal welfare is very honorable' One of the biggest crowd-pleasers at Pet Rock Fest is the amateur dog show, with categories like “owner-dog look-alike” and “waggiest tail,” Arsenault said.
“We’ll have our usual doggie water park, but this year, dogs can also splash around in the on-site pond. A fun addition is pig yoga sessions — yes, yoga with pigs. Several farm animal sanctuaries are attending, so expect to see animals like goats, horses, and sheep. For the kids, we’ve got face painting, bouncy houses, and slides. The day kicks off with a shelter and rescue pet parade, where rescues showcase their adoptable animals, and one shelter wins a $500 prize for best parade display.”
In terms of public safety, Hebert said “We hire local police and have an ambulance on call. One of our volunteers is a registered nurse and we have a first aid station. That’s for people. For the dogs, we have veterinarians from VCA Animal Hospital who have been supporting us for 26 years.”
Music, including rock, has always been an integral past of the Pet Rock Fest. With Ricky Duran, the event may have found an ideal partner. Duran has said, “All they do to help end animal cruelty and help in animal welfare is very honorable. I adopted my cat several years ago and I think of him like a child. I am a huge animal lover and supporter of Pet Rock Festival.”
Hebert said, “Ricky is a sweetheart. He loves the event and our mission. He wanted to come back, and we were more than happy to welcome him.”
Media personality Peter “Zip” Zipfel will be the emcee on the Music Stage. The performances begin at 12:15 p.m. with The Petty Larceny Band, a Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers tribute band that has won three three consecutive Worcester Music Awards. The band also covers songs from the Traveling Wilburys, Mudcrutch, and Stevie Nicks. The Office Party Band, at 1:15 p.m., is a Worcester-based band with some well-known veteran musicians including Gary Chadwick, Brian Grady, Mike Church, Joe LaJoie and Eric Pearson. Duran performs at 2:15 p.m., followed by the popular dance band ViVi & DaFunk at 3:15 p.m. A musical act for 4:15 p.m. was TBA at the time of writing this story.
‘A family affair'
The Pet Rock Fest has been a long commitment for Arsenault and Hebert. With the 26th about to take place, do they see the event continuing to play long into the future with their own involvement at the helm?
“This is a family affair. My daughter and grandchildren run the Pet Parade and the Dog Show and help me to promote. My significant other is radio personality “Zip” Zipfel and he helps us with creation of the advertising spots and placements,” Hebert said. “Our friends offer their services and as their children grow they get involved. Charlene’s family and friends volunteer, too. The majority of our volunteers fall into this category. It isn’t easy. Volunteers are at a premium. But Pet Rock Fest is a great cause and there are good people out there. I am actually past retirement age and looking to step back a little, but like Michael Corelone, I ‘get pulled back in.' It truly is a labor of love,” she said.
” I don’t like to think about letting go of Pet Rock Fest — it’s hard to imagine,” said Arsenault. “I think I’d have to be either dead or completely out of commission before I’d stop doing it. That said, it is a lot of work, and the weeks leading up to the festival are always incredibly stressful for me. Jeannie always reminds me, ‘It’s like a wedding. It’s going to happen one way or another, and we’ll pull it off.' Still, I’d love to grow the Pet Rock team. There are so many well-intentioned people, but sometimes the follow-through isn’t there. You know the saying: if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.”
Pet Rock Festival When: Noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 6
Where: Lancaster Fairgrounds, Lancaster
How much: $15; children $5. petrockfest.org
