Summerlin to host Oct. 13 animal festival

The master-planned community of Summerlin joins with the Nevada Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and several other sponsors to host The Family, Fur & Fun Festival Oct. 13.

The free public event for animal lovers and their pets runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Willows Park, 2775 Desert Marigold Lane.

The other co-sponsors of the event are Lucky Dog magazine, the law office of Donna Stidham, Nevada Power Co., Cox Communications, Whole Foods Market, 105.7 FM, Aloha Animal Hospital, Child Haven, Healthy Tails and 100.5 FM.

The Family, Fur & Fun Festival features a day filled with furry friends, food, entertainment, interactive activities for children of all ages, special guests, microchip clinic, information on proper pet care, products and entertainment for Las Vegas families and their pets, along with a special focus on humane education.

The Nevada SPCA will have dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and ferrets available for adoption.

Attendees are also encouraged to bring new or gently used animal books for donation to Child Haven.

"This unique event brings the nonprofit and business communities together to celebrate, educate and promote responsible pet ownership," said Doug Duke, executive director of the Nevada SPCA.

"Summerlin is pleased to host this first-time event," said Tom Warden, vice president of community and government relations for The Howard Hughes Corp., an affiliate of General Growth Properties and developer of Summerlin. "Our community has a pet-friendly reputation so The Family, Fur & Fun Festival is a natural. Many of our most active and popular residents are the four-legged kind. On any given day, Summerlin pet owners are out and about with their dogs enjoying our parks, trails and even coffee shops."

For information about The Family, Fur & Fun Festival, visit familyfurandfun.com.

Summerlin began to take shape in 1990, carved out of mostly raw desert. It is a 22,500-acre master-planned community located along the western rim of the Las Vegas Valley.

The community is home to more than 95,000 residents and remains a work in progress. With about 7,500 acres still to develop, including its urban core village known as Summerlin Centre, Summerlin continues to take shape.

Summerlin is home to more than 100 neighborhood and village parks, more than 150 completed miles of the Summerlin trail system, nine golf courses, a dozen houses of worship, shopping centers, medical facilities, business parks, 22 public and private schools and more than 100 actively selling floor plans.

The success of the Summerlin experiment triggered the residential building boom that transformed the Las Vegas Valley.

Proximity to Red Rock Canyon made Summerlin instantly appealing to home buyers, both longtime valley residents and newcomers.

Homes are available in a variety of styles - from single-family homes to townhomes, condominiums and lofts - priced from the low $200,000s to more than $2 million.

Custom home sites in The Ridges are priced from the $500,000s. Luxury apartment homes offer monthly rents starting from the low $1,000s.

For more information, visit summerlin.com or call 888-898-5015.