Brooksville's First Harvest Howl Fest Brings Pets, Food Trucks to Tom Varn Park Oct. 3

Brooksville and the Hernando County Sheriff's Office Animal Services are launching a brand-new fall tradition this weekend: the first-ever Harvest Howl Fest, a free community festival built around local pets, runs Saturday, Oct. 3, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Tom Varn Park, 301 Darby Lane.

It's a joint effort between the city and Animal Services, and it's billed as the first event of its kind here: a full day of food trucks, live music, local vendors and family activities, with local rescues on hand showing off pets that are ready to be adopted.

Admission is free. Families can expect the usual footprint of a Tom Varn Park event, food trucks parked along the open green space, vendor tables set up nearby, and a stage or sound setup for the live music. The rescue groups bringing adoptable animals haven't been named individually, but the idea is simple: give people a low-pressure way to meet dogs and cats up for adoption while they're already out enjoying a Saturday in the park.

Tom Varn Park has become something of a hub for Brooksville's fall calendar. Later in October it hosts the Breast Cancer Awareness Walk, the Hernando Hustle 5K, and the City's Truck or Treat event, while downtown Brooksville gears up for Founders' Day festivities running Oct. 10 through 17. The Sheriff's Office has its own Safety Fest and Halloween Howl planned downtown on Oct. 24.

No formal schedule of performers or vendor lists has been released. Anyone planning to spend the whole day should bring cash for food trucks and vendors, since not all of them may take cards, and check the weather since it's an outdoor event with no listed rain plan.

For families weighing whether to bring the kids or the family dog, the layout at Tom Varn Park is spread across open lawn and shaded areas, the same grounds used for the park's other seasonal events like the upcoming Pumpkin Patch running Oct. 16 through 31.

Want more on what's happening around Hernando County this fall? Visit Hernando County Community Website, follow us on Facebook, and join the conversation in our Community Forum. For more local happenings like this one, check out our events coverage and community news.

Header photo: DanTD / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)