{"id":105293,"date":"2025-05-16T04:08:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T04:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/105293\/"},"modified":"2025-05-16T04:08:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T04:08:11","slug":"scotlands-first-ever-festival-for-dogs-featuring-music-art-and-dog-themed-tarot-readings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/105293\/","title":{"rendered":"Scotland’s first ever festival for dogs featuring music, art and dog-themed tarot readings"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI wanted to create a day that celebrates the special bond we have with our dogs \u2014 while also being fun, inspiring and inclusive for all dog lovers, whether they have a pup or not.”Jenn with golden retriever Scout<\/p>\n

Scots will be able to enjoy the country’s first ever festival<\/a> for dogs and dog lovers, which will be staged this summer.<\/p>\n

Barklove 2025 is the brainchild of dog lover and music publicist Jenn Nimmo-Smith who will stage the indoor and outdoor festival at the SWG3 venue complex in Glasgow.<\/p>\n

Her festival for dogs<\/a>, and also dog lovers, will also feature music as well as dog-themed art and even dog-themed tarot card readings.<\/p>\n

The festival, which is being held on Sunday, July 6, 2025, has a full canine-themed program of events taking place throughout the day. However, Barklove founder Jenn is keen to stress that people who don\u2019t own dogs are also welcome.<\/p>\n

Barklove unveils festival for dogs and dog lovers at SWG3<\/p>\n

Jenn said: \u201cI\u2019ve had a lifelong love of dogs.<\/a> We grew up with a springer spaniel. Dogs have always played a prominent role in my life. And then when my dad was sick, we got Scout who is a golden retriever.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen my dad passed away I found all these old photos and realised that when he was growing up he had a golden retriever as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo there have been all these mental health benefits to having a dog<\/a>. Scout has been a total lifesaver.<\/p>\n

\u201cScout has been great and she gets me up and out every day, taking her for walks, coming home every day to someone who has this unbridled love for you<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unparalleled, and you get to meet a lot of people in your local community. I could tell you the name of every dog in Govan, maybe not the owners, but definitely, definitely their dogs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s brought a great sense of community in terms of connection with the local area.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to do a music festival and I work in PR. I’ve always had a really lifelong love of events running alongside my lifelong love of dogs. So I thought, why not combine the two?<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I came up with the idea for Barklove and it grew arms and legs and paws.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even if people don\u2019t have a dog of their own, Jenn says there will be a chance to get up close with therapy dogs and enjoy the atmosphere of a family and dog friendly day out.<\/p>\n

Barklove unveils programme for its debut festival for dog lovers at SWG3<\/p>\n

Taking over the full of Glasgow\u2019s SWG3 complex, the festival will feature a packed day of feel-good experiences, from DJ sets and dog care demos to wellbeing sessions, tasty food stalls, and creative activities.<\/p>\n

Highlights include the lighthearted Barklove Fun Dog Show, where attendees will be invited to get involved by voting for their favourites across a mix of fun, feel-good categories.<\/p>\n

Bearsden Dog Training club will host a fun agility area while Barkworks is a hands-on art space created in collaboration with Yardworks, where both dogs and humans<\/a> can get stuck into making dog-themed art.<\/p>\n

Stylish dog gear, luxury hand baked treats, lifestyle finds, and a dog-friendly campervan will also be on site as well as therapy dogs.<\/p>\n

Paws & Reset classes led by Fi Duffy of Scottish Canine Wellness will offer a pause, or should that be paws, in the day for both dogs and their guardians.<\/p>\n

Tarot by Peachy will offer dog-themed tarot readings.<\/p>\n

Jenn said: \u201cCombining my lifelong love of dogs with my background in events, Barklove is something I\u2019ve dreamed of bringing to life for a long time.<\/p>\n

\u201cSWG3 have such a great creative space. It’s an iconic space that is one of the most creative venues in Scotland. I’ve worked closely with them before, and I knew that it was like the perfect setting to bring something like Barklove to life in terms of having it indoors and a mix of outdoors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to create a day that celebrates the special bond we have with our dogs \u2014 while also being fun, inspiring and inclusive for all dog lovers, whether they have a pup or not.<\/p>\n

\u201cScout will be on the guest list. She is the official mascot. I don\u2019t know how she\u2019ll feel about me with all these other dogs.<\/p>\n

\u201cBarklove is celebration of the joy and connection that dogs bring into our lives, inspired by my lifelong love with them and what they mean to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really set out to create something fun, welcoming, a little bit different. It’s not just for dogs and dog owners, but for anyone who loves being around dogs.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it’s a chance to spend quality time with your dog, connect with other like minded people, other dog lovers also discover really local businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t wait to welcome everyone to SWG3 this summer for the very first edition.\u201d<\/p>\n

I predict one or two of the dogs will be feeling “ruff” after Barklove.<\/p>\n

Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond – Sign up to our daily newsletter here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI wanted to create a day that celebrates the special bond we have with our dogs \u2014 while…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":105294,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5009],"tags":[933,48340,748,690,918,4884,11499,5698,712,48341,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-105293","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scotland","8":"tag-animals","9":"tag-bearsden","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-dogs","12":"tag-glasgow","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-love-and-romance","15":"tag-pets","16":"tag-scotland","17":"tag-scottish-festivals","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114515549877443974","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105293\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}