Joybound Around Town on Broadway: Beloved East Bay Pet Festival Returns to Celebrate 25 Years of Joy and Connection

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Joybound Around Town on Broadway: Beloved East Bay Pet Festival Returns to Celebrate 25 Years of Joy and Connection

WALNUT CREEK, CA – Joybound People & Pets is thrilled to announce the 25th anniversary of its flagship community event, Joybound Around Town on Broadway, taking place on Sunday, September 14, 2025, from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM at Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek.

This joyful, pet-friendly celebration brings together families, animal lovers, and their furry companions for a fun-filled day of live music, giveaways, wellness activities, and the crowd-favorite Paw-rade Pet Walk! Each year thousands of pet lovers attend this growing event to support Joybound’s life-changing work, from pet rescue and adoption to low-cost veterinary care, psychiatric service animal training, therapy animal programs, and vital community support services across Contra Costa County.

“Joybound Around Town is a celebration of the powerful bond between people and pets — and the bond between people who love pets, too,” said Susan Lee Vick, President and Chief Executive Officer of Joybound People & Pets. “This milestone event not only commemorates 25 years of community and compassion, it also helps us create even more happy new beginnings for animals and the people who love them.”

In the lead-up to event day, community members are invited to form fundraising teams with friends, family, coworkers, or fellow pet lovers. With exciting prizes — and bragging rights — on the line, teams compete to raise funds that directly support Joybound’s mission. Every dollar raised helps provide life-changing veterinary care, adoptions, vocational training, community initiatives and service dog placements for people in need.

Event Highlights & Schedule: Join us for a full day of wag-worthy fun, paws-on activities, and community celebration, all in support of pets and the people who love them. Whether you are walking, dancing, shopping, or cheering, Joybound Around Town on Broadway has something for every animal lover

The Paw-rade Walk | 11:00 AM: Start your day with a delightful one-mile Paw-rade around Broadway Plaza. Bring your four-legged sidekick, rally your team, and fundraise to help more cats and dogs find safe, healthy, loving homes. Bonus: prizes for top teams and fundraisers!

Best-Dressed Pet Contest | 12:30 PM: Does your pet have red carpet energy? Enter them in our crowd-favorite costume contest and let them strut their style on the main stage.

Look-A-Like Contest | 1:30 – 3:30 PM: Cheer on furry contestants in themed look-a-like matchups…adorable and hilarious!

• 1:30 PM – Toto from The Wizard of Oz
• 2:30 PM – Garfield the Cat
• 3:30 PM – Krypto the Superdog

Shelter to Service Demo | 3:00 PM: See our superstar service dogs in action and discover how Joybound’s Shelter to Service program helps transform shelter dogs into life-changing companions for people facing emotional and mental health challenges.

Pet Wellness Festival + Live Entertainment | All Day
After the walk, dive into the heart of the festival—an open-air celebration of pets, people, and community joy! Stroll the streets of Broadway Plaza lined with interactive booths, free wellness resources, adoptable animals, and fun family-friendly activities. All the while, enjoy an awesome mix of music and feel-good vibes on the main stage:

• 11:00 AM – Highway One kicks things off with upbeat tunes to get tails wagging.
• 2:00 PM – The Dream Tellers bring live music the whole family will love.

Joybound Around Town on Broadway reflects the heart of Joybound’s mission: creating a stronger, more compassionate community through the human-animal bond. As families, neighbors, and animal lovers come together in support of pets in need, this event celebrates the way that animals not only enrich our lives but also bring us closer to one another. With every wag, purr, and smile, this event shows us what is possible when a community rallies around love, care, and second chances.

Full event details here: https://joybound.org/event/joybound-around-town-on-broadway/

Media Opportunities: Media are invited to capture the energy and joy of Joybound Around Town, with dynamic photo and video opportunities throughout the day — including the Paw-rade Walk, pet costume contests, Shelter to Service dog demonstrations, and crowd interactions with adoptable animals.

Interviews and Behind-the-Scenes Access: Spokespeople, volunteers, and Joybound program participants are available for interviews. Media kits and high-res photos can be provided upon request.

Special thanks to our event sponsors Purina, Broadway Plaza Walnut Creek, Diablo Subaru of Walnut Creek, Five Star Bank, MetLife Pet Insurance, Diablo Valley Magazine, Walnut Creek City Lifestyle, Club K-9, Perfect Star Heating, and Air Conditioning and Henry Brothers Construction.