Doggie Gras in Rancho Santa Fe

Pups'll gussy up for a roll down BourBONE Street.

TO SAY OUR PUPS DON'T CELEBRATE... our special occasions with us is to make a claim you've never passed a shop window or spied the front of a catalog during the holiday season. It's big, big business, outfitting our canines in Halloween get-ups and Christmas-themed gear, but each year the festive, Fido-focused partying seems to come to a momentary halt after New Year's. For sure, there may be a pair of Easter Bunny ears seen on various furry heads, here and there, but the start of the year is a little empty in the doggy dress-up department. Except, of course, at the Helen Woodward Animal Center, the Rancho Santa Fe-based non-profit nexus for rescues and animal help in countless forms.

HELLO, BOURBONE STREET: When not placing pups in homes, the volunteers of the center are raising awareness of the plights of our four-legged friends through a host of happenings, including one of the splashiest of the year: Doggie Gras. If you think this is where mutts get fancy in their finest feathers -- or at least sparkly outfits provided by their humans -- you'd be correct. If you think there's a parade of pups, you'd be correct again, and if you think they're parading down BourBONE Street, well, bingo. Many of the hallmarks of Mardi Gras are seen at the celebration, which is held annually to help hound-sweet causes.

SUNDAY, FEB. 7... is the 2016 bash, which'll roll at a fresh location: The Rancho Santa Fe Farmers Market. The new setting was chosen to widen the breadth of the event, and to draw more dog-loving humans into the fun fold. A vendor treasure hunt, a King Cake made especially for canines, and the grand roll of "featuring orphaned and adopted pooches Mardi Gras themed costumes" will fill out the midday happening. Will a sweetie pie wearing gold, purple, and green find a home that day? Let's home that the good times truly roll for some of the area's in-need pups. More info? Throw on a pair of beads and dance this way.

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