Paws Humane Society

Barks & Blues Music Festival

Saturday, May 20th marks the date of the sixth annual Paws Humane Society Barks & Blues Music Festival. What began as a modest attempt to bring more families onto the Paws Humane campus drew such a crowd that we had to move it to Woodruff Park. This year we expect over 2,000 attendees and we can’t wait until the music starts at 3:00 pm!

Barks & Blues is a family-friendly event with something for everyone. Our Kid Zone will be set up near the splash pad at Woodruff Park and will feature a bounce house with a slide, crazy hair, face painting, and crafts. CORTA (from Cooper Creek Tennis) will be there as well with racquets and tennis balls if that’s your thing.

Columbus’ finest food trucks will be serving up barbeque, smoked sausage, hamburgers, hotdogs, and funnel cakes. There will be plenty of ice cream and shaved ice to cool you down as the festival heats up, so be sure to bring your appetite. And of course, you can’t have a music festival without plenty of beer.

To kick things off on the music end, we’ll have Terry Young and Willie Taylor, followed by Stained Glass Saints, The Shelby Brothers, and The Parker House Band.

Prepare to be wowed! Slippery When Wet: The Ultimate Bon Jovi Tribute will headline this year’s festival. Slippery When Wet was formed in 2003 by Jason Morey after he found himself answering many inquiries of “Are you Jon Bon Jovi?” Most notably, comedian Dave Chappelle invited Jason backstage following one of his comedy shows thinking he was the New Jersey icon. It was then that Jason knew he had to take advantage of the resemblance. Slippery When Wet has played over 1,600 shows throughout the U.S. alone and has traveled to Africa, Mexico, Singapore, Puerto Rico, Honduras and the Dominican Republic. They have headlined on over 60 cruises on the Royal Caribbean cruise line and played the pregame of Super Bowl XLVIII in East Rutherford, NJ. The band’s shows are the most-attended and highest-grossing of any Bon Jovi tribute act in the country.

If you love music and you love animals, this is the place to be on May 20. Best of all, admission to the 2023 Barks & Blues Music Festival is FREE, all thanks to our amazing sponsors. Visit barksandblues.com to find out more information.