Cagemates Emma and Tasha await a treat at the Portage County Animal Protection League in Ravenna. Dana Beveridge | Daily Kent Stater

Credit: Ron Soltys

4th Annual St. Pet’s Day

Sunday 1:30 p.m.at the Kent Stage

Admission: $2 with pet food or wish list item

St. Patrick’s Day is a day known for drinking lots of beer and eating lots of corn beef and cabbage, but for others, it’s all about charity. The Celtic Club is holding its “Fourth Annual St. Pet’s Day” on Sunday at The Kent Stage.

This event is dedicated to animals and donating large amounts of pet food to The Humane Society and other related organizations. It is also being held in memory of Mary Rita Murray Klein, who passed away last year due to cancer. She was co-founder of the Celtic Club and one of the founding organizers of the O’Hare Irish Dancers. Attendees are asked to bring pet food or a wish list donation for the Portage Animal Protection League, and Ohio Greyhound Adoption. The wish list can be found at portageapl.org/helpnow.htm. All donated pet food will be weighed at the end of the event.

Along with the O’Hare Irish Dancers, this event will have live entertainment by The Mickeys, the Akron and District Pipes and Drums, poet Merle Mollenkopf, Kent Fire Color Guard and the St. Patrick Middle School Band under the direction of Renee Illa.

A raffle and door admission will assist Dave Nethken, who just recently had a stroke, with medical expenses. There will be food and beverages served.

Jim Collver, an officer at the Celtic Club, said this event has been a great success in past years.

“This event is totally for charity,” Collver said. “We enjoy doing this.”

Collver confirmed that last year almost 400 people showed up at the Kent Stage to partake in the St. Pet’s Day festivities.

“Kent seems to embrace this kind of event, and we’ll be coming back as long as they’ll have us,” he said.

Kent is not the only place that holds this particular event.

Collver said that it has been held at the Old Trail School in Bath Township this past February and the Miller South School in Akron this past fall. In combination, both schools donated about 4,300 pounds of pet food.

“There will be larger events that we will be sponsoring later in the year,” Collver said. “The Humane Society needs all the help they can get.”

Collver said the best thing about the event is watching families getting together and giving back to their community.

“It’s fun seeing families come together and contributing,” he said. “We need lots of support.”

View the petpals website at http://portageapl.org/helpnow.htm

Contact all reporter Samantha Tosado at [email protected].