PET ROCK FEST RETURNS FOR YEAR 28!
Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026 | Noon–5 p.m.
Lancaster Fairgrounds | Lancaster, MA

New England’s biggest celebration of animals and the people who help them is back!
For 28 years, Pet Rock Fest has brought animal lovers together for one enormous day devoted to kindness, community and helping animals — and we’re doing it all over again Oct. 4 at the Lancaster Fairgrounds.
Bring the family. Bring the dog. Come to adopt, learn, shop, eat, listen to some great music or simply spend five hours surrounded by people who love animals as much as you do.
At the heart of Pet Rock Fest are more than 50 animal welfare organizations representing just about every corner of the animal world — shelters and rescues, farm animal sanctuaries, wildlife rehabilitators, rabbit rescues, service and therapy animal organizations, lost-pet recovery groups, animal advocates and more.
They’re the reason we do this.
The rest? That’s where things get REALLY fun.

SO WHAT’S HAPPENING AT PET ROCK FEST?

• Pups in the Air Disc Dog Team — high-flying dogs performing throughout the day
• Rescue Groups & Shelters Pet Parade
• K9 demonstrations
• Pet Rock Fest Amateur Dog Contest
• “Oh, Were You Using This?” Cat Photo Contest
• Meet Blue the Owl from Raptor Tales Rescue
• Goat & Bunny Yoga with Beyond Yoga & Wellness and rescued animals from Ivy Hill Farm
• Doggie Water Park for pups who need to cool off
• Meet rescued farm animals, including animal ambassadors from Diego’s Friends Farm Sanctuary and The Refuge at Lyric Farm
• Pet Rock Fest Juno Hero Awards, honoring extraordinary work on behalf of animals
• Rescue Treasures, hosted by MA Homes, with new and gently used pet goodies — and 100% of proceeds benefiting Pet Rock Fest
• 50+ animal welfare nonprofits to meet, support and learn from
• Pet-friendly vendors, artists and shopping
• Vegetarian food court featuring Tandoor & Curry on Wheels, Souped Up Food, Baked by Danny and more
• Huge Pet Rock raffle
• Pet food collection for Lacey’s Lunchbox — bring unopened, unexpired dog or cat food
• Giveaways, activities and plenty of surprises throughout the day
• And, of course, A LOT OF ANIMALS

AND DID WE MENTION THE ROCK?
Live music has been part of Pet Rock from the very beginning, and we’ve got four bands taking the stage this year.

• Decades by DeZyne — HEADLINING Pet Rock Fest 2026 with six decades of hits and a full-on show-band experience
• The Black Souls — ’60s R&B, garage and pub rock with plenty of soul
• The Dirty Genes — female-fronted, high-energy original indie rock
• Solmere — Western Massachusetts “Beach Rock Reggae,” blending reggae, rock, dub and soul

Come for the animals and stay for the music. Come for the music and discover 50 animal organizations you didn’t know about. That’s kind of the whole idea.

COME HUNGRY
Pet Rock Fest is a meat-free festival, and this year’s food lineup includes two trucks making their Pet Rock debut.

• Tandoor & Curry on Wheels is bringing vegetable samosas, samosa chaat, spring rolls, chana masala, paneer tikka masala, vegetable curry, veggie burgers and more.
• Souped Up Food will be serving everything from creamy butternut squash soup and a vegan Thai rainbow wrap to grilled cheddar with apple chutney, harvest bowls and loaded tater tots.
• And Baked by Danny will be there with cookies and other baked goodies because obviously we need dessert.

WHY PET ROCK?
Pet Rock Fest began in 1999 with a simple idea: animals need people willing to speak up for them.
Since then, Pet Rock Fest has donated nearly $1 million to animal-related charities and causes, supporting everything from shelters and rescues to sanctuaries, education, advocacy and animal welfare reform.
Twenty-eight years later, the festival has grown and changed, but the mission hasn’t.
We believe the animal welfare community is stronger when it comes together. Pet Rock provides the gathering place — but the rescues, shelters, sanctuaries, rehabilitators, advocates, volunteers and organizations doing this work every day are the heart of it.
They’re the HOW behind our WHY.

WHERE:
Lancaster Fairgrounds — Home of the Bolton Fair
318-7 Bridge Road, Lancaster, MA

WHEN:
Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026
Noon–5 p.m.
Rain or shine!

ADMISSION:
$15 adults
$5 children 12 and under
Friendly, well-behaved dogs are welcome!

Invite your friends. Share the event. Bring the family. Bring the dog. Bring some pet food for Lacey’s Lunchbox. And come spend the day with the people and organizations working to make this world a little kinder for animals.

They Can’t Talk, So We Will.
Learn more:
petrockfest.org