Dog lover? Cat lover? Snake lover? Hoping to be the lover of a new pet? The Pet Expo MKE at the Wisconsin State Fair Park is where you need to be.
Hosted by The Alliance of Wisconsin Animal Rehoming Efforts (AWARE), Pet Expo MKE celebrates its 20th anniversary as the only charitable event in Wisconsin of this magnitude that helps many different species of Wisconsin-based animals.
"One of the greatest things about Pet Expo MKE is we have everything for every pet lover: from parrots to poodles; Persian cats to pythons; and everything in between," says Cindy Steinle, Pet Expo MKE planning committee member and director of Small Scale Reptile Rescue.
The family-friendly fun is set for Saturday, Feb. 1. It starts with a VIP Shopping Hour from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and the general hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
General Admission (ages 13 and up) is $10 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and $5 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Free admission for children (12 and younger) and veterans with military ID. VIP Shopping admission is $15 (ages 13 and up) and $3 for kids (ages five to 12). All admission and raffle proceeds from the events benefit AWARE.
Tickets are available in advance or at the door. Click here to buy.
The Expo features hundreds of adoptable pets along with a Parade of Rescues, live animal entertainment such as canine agility, interactive educational areas and presentations, vendors, a special reptile and bird area, Cat Alley, Bark Park, a canine cancer resource center, Kids Place, No Empty Bowls Pet Food Drive, Mondo Lucha wrestlers and more.
"The truly best part of this expo is it's staffed by volunteers who love animals," says Steinle. "For many of us smaller organizations, the money we make at this event will fund our organizations for almost the entire year."
For more information about Pet Expo MKE and tickets, go here.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
