Halloween comes early to Mountain’s Edge with pet event

Four-legged ghouls, ghosts, and even Elvis will appear at the Halloween Costume Contest at the annual Family, Fur &Fun Festival from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 18 at Exploration Park in the Mountain’s Edge master-planned community.

The 80-acre Exploration Park is at 9700 S. Buffalo Drive. Pets of all shapes and sizes are invited to participate. Categories include: Best in Show, Best Family (can include pet owners and/or multiple pets), Funniest Costume and Cutest Costume. Prizes for each category include ribbons, gift baskets and more.

The entry fee is $3 per category with registration at the Las Vegas Hot-Diggity Dachshund Club and Rescue booth at the festival. Organized by the dachshund group, the costume contest will begin at 1 p.m. Information also will be shared to keep pets safe during the holidays.

“The pet costume contest is a lot of fun for both entrants and attendees, and it’s great to see the creativity,” said Stacy Twigg, Las Vegas Hot-Diggity Dachshund Club and Rescue’s fundraising director.

Costume contest proceeds will benefit the Las Vegas Hot-Diggity Dachshund Club and Rescue, a nonprofit 501(c) (3) member-based social club for dachshunds and their owners and a companion rescue component. It is run by volunteers who work to find forever homes for abandoned, abused and neglected dachshunds. For more information on adopting, fostering or volunteering, visit http://lvhddcr.com/dachshundrescue.php.

The free festival, now in its eighth year, aims to raise awareness about the importance of adopting animals in shelters, fostering animals until they can be adopted, volunteering and spaying and neutering.

A variety of booths and activities include separate cat and dog adoption areas, dog agility demonstrations, naming new shelter animals, free nail trimming, raffle prizes and refreshments. The event also provides information to keep pets healthy and slim, incorporate them into the family, and include them in planning should a home fire or flood occur.

Family, Fur &Fun Festival sponsors include: Law Office of Donna Stidham LLC, Aloha Animal Hospital, Amica Insurance, At Your Service Pet Supplies, English Garden Florist, Mountain’s Edge master-planned community, NutriSource and the USA Sevens rugby team. For information, visit www.familyfurandfun.com or www.mountainsedge.com, call 702-444-3713, or email info@familyfurandfun.com.

Festival attendees also are invited to tour Mountain’s Edge. Homebuilders include DR Horton, KB Home, Lennar, Pulte Homes, Richmond American Homes and Ryland Homes.

Richmond American Home’s Sutter Hills is selling new two-story floor plans that are as large as 2,950 square feet and priced from the low $300,000s. The homes come with maple cabinets, granite kitchen countertops, ceramic tile flooring and other amenities. Three-car garages and first-floor bedrooms are available.

To learn about Mountain’s Edge, developed by Focus Property Group, visit the information center at 9725 S. Buffalo Drive, call 702-898-5777 or visit www.mountainsedge.com.