2012’s “Pet-palooza” Deemed a Success

As many of you may know, Orland Township recently hosted the second annual fundraiser, “Pet-palooza”, benefitting the Orland Township Food Pantry. After a highly successful inaugural event in 2011, the second go-around, held on Saturday, June 16, was an equally great time for most of the 2,000 visitors who attended.

Our free event, which was open to leashed animals, included a pet parade, pony rides, pet contests, adoptions, vet consultations, musical entertainment, exhibitors such as Brookfield Zoo, vendors, face painting, balloon artists, children’s games, inflatables, raffles, safety demonstrations by the Orland Fire Protection District, the Orland Park Police Department, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and the Tinley Park Police Department’s K-9 unit, as well as appearances by local mascots, including Southpaw.

For the four-legged friends who also attended, water stations and cooling pools were set-up throughout the event, on what proved to be an extremely warm summer day.

A delicious and generous array of food and drink samplings were graciously donated by Beggars Pizza, Winston’s Market, Ed & Joe’s Pizza, Starbucks, Noodles and Co., Jersey Mike’s, Turk’s, Fortune In, Hienie’s McCarthy’s, Pepsi Beverages Company, Papa Joe’s, Culver’s, P.F. Chang’s, Chick-fil-A, Jr’s Hot Dogs and Chipotle.

“Petpalooza” has turned into an iconic event for the township. It was once again a great outing, especially for families with children, and on top of that, we raised a great deal of money for a wonderful cause. We appreciate all of the support that we have received from businesses and organizations within the community and we couldn’t have done it without their generous assistance.

On behalf of the Orland Township Board of Trustees and staff, I would like to offer a thanks to all who contributed to this year’s “Pet-palooza”, including those who attended and donated to the annual event’s cause.