FORT MYERS — GoldenFest XIII, a huge annual pet fair and fundraiser, promises to be a golden day for dogs and their people. Hosted by Golden Retriever Rescue of Southwest Florida, the festival will be held at the Shell Factory & Nature Park in North Fort Myers from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12.

GoldenFest events include dozens of vendors, exhibits, dog obedience, flyball, scent work, trick and agility demos, sheriff’s office K-9 demos, live music, dancing by the Calendar Girls, refreshments, a Santa Paws photo booth, a huge raffle and silent auction, and much more.

In attendance will be hundreds of goldens rescued by GRRSWF over the years, each sporting a “GRRSWF Alumni” bandana. The rescue, founded in 2009, has saved more than 1,200 goldens and golden mixes, from Florida as well as South Korea and the Midwest.

“It is a thrill for us to bring GoldenFest to our community each year. We couldn’t do it, however, without the invaluable help of our special friends at the Shell Factory & Nature Park and many, many volunteers,” said Dennis Guyitt, vice president of GRRSWF and GoldenFest XIII manager. “GoldenFest gets better every year, and we are so honored to share it with everyone in Southwest Florida.”

“If you love dogs, GoldenFest is the place to be,” added GRRSWF Fundraising Committee Chairman Cliff Smith.” It is so much fun for dogs, dog lovers and the entire family. GoldenFest only happens once a year, so you don’t want to miss it.”

There will also be a GRRSWF Alumni Reunion tent for the golden retrievers GRRSWF has rescued since 2009. Since 2015, as part of its international mission, the rescue has saved more than. 70 goldens from South Korea to raise awareness about the dog-meat industry that still exists in some parts of the world.

“This will be our 13th annual GoldenFest, and it should be our best yet,” said Guyitt. “We added events like obedience, agility and flyball demonstrations, pony rides, live music, and on-site food and beverages. This is the best and largest dog event of the year in Southwest Florida.”

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office will have a huge presence at GoldenFest this year, with K9 demonstrations, training demos, the Sheriff Carmine Marceno ice cream truck, a SWAT Team Bear Cat vehicle, a robot dog and possibly even a virtual reality vehicle where visitors get to experience a deputy’s real life decision-making.

There will be a number of awards presented to supporters of the rescue, as well as the second annual presentation of the coveted “Hero Award” recognizing the individual or organization who made exceptional contributions to animal welfare in Southwest Florida in 2023. Last year, this award was presented to Sheriff Carmine Marceno and the LCSO Animal Cruelty Task Force for making Lee County a safer place for animals.

A group from ABC 4 K9, a dog-training group in North Fort Myers, will be doing obedience and rally demos. Representatives of Bratty Paws in Punta Gorda will do canine agility demos. The Barkaholics Team from Sarasota will share their enthusiastic demonstrations of a canine sport called flyball. and Endless Trails Stables will have pony rides for the kids.

Additionally, the event will feature representatives of the North Fort Myers Fire Control District displaying equipment and vehicles.

Vendors include a huge variety of pet-related businesses, services and nonprofits, as well as numerous other local businesses.

A huge raffle features gift cards from restaurants and attractions, pet-related goodie baskets, tickets to sporting events and rounds of golf, wine baskets, luxury items and more.

Sponsors include: The Gunterberg Charitable Foundation - Brotherhood of Heroes; Enterprise Holdings; The Burruss Foundation; an anonymous local family foundation; and Subaru of Fort Myers.

Additional sponsors are David and Linda Lucas; the Kiwanis Club of Cape Coral; Cameo of Lee County; FETCH Specialty and Emergency Veterinary Centers; Jeff Cull and Ella Nayor; Duckberry Designs; Florida Restoration; Roxanne and Cliff Smith; United Way Beesley’s PawPrints; FineMark National Bank & Trust;; Flight Fast Track; Florida Blue Medicare; Bay Street Yard; Lee County Sheriff’s Office; the Shell Factory & Nature Park; NBC2; and Florida Weekly.

The Shell Factory is located at 16554 N. Cleveland Ave. in North Fort Myers.

All breeds of well-mannered, leashed dogs — especially golden retrievers — are invited to attend with their owners. Admission and parking are free.

For more information, visit www.grrswf/goldenfest.org, email info@grrswf.org or call 239-369-0415.