Dog lovers, mark your calendars: Park and Bark returns Saturday, May 9, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Ellanor C. Lawrence Park in Chantilly. The free, dog- and family-friendly festival takes place on the lawn outside the Walney Visitor Center at 5040 Walney Rd.
The event will feature adoptable dogs from A Forever Home Rescue Foundation and will have onsite mobile dog grooming services. Dog-themed vendors along with local crafters, makers, and bakers will also be selling their wares.
Attendees can purchase craft brews from Lazy Dog Restaurant and gourmet sausages and hotdogs from Kaziville’s food truck while enjoying live music from Lucas Mason.
The Walney Visitor Center — set in a restored 18th-century farmhouse — will be open during the festival. Visitors can learn the history of the 650-acre park, view live reptiles and amphibians, enjoy hands-on kids’ activities, and explore preserved historic structures.
Free parking for Park and Bark is available at the Visitor Center. Additional parking and walking access is available at Walney Pond and The Woodlands Stewardship Education Center via marked park trails.
The event is sponsored by Ellanor C. Lawrence Park Friends, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the park through programs, events, fundraising, and community engagement. Its other signature initiatives include ParktoberFest and the Friends Field Trip Scholarship Program, which expands access to outdoor learning experiences for local students.
Feature image courtesy Ellanor C. Lawrence Park Friends
