|
2008 BOSTON TEA PARTY
Beautiful weather welcomed all who came out for the Third Annual Boston Buddies Boston Tea Party on September 20, 2008. Held once again at The Park Bench Café in Huntington Beach, this year was the most successful Tea Party ever with over 170 dogs in attendance!
In the early hours of the morning several volunteers arrived with cars and trucks bursting at the seams with all the fixin’s for a perfect day. Four large tents and several smaller canopies were assembled in the grassy area behind the Café as the site for the Tea Party took shape. Construction of the Boston Idol Arena was commenced in preparation for the day’s furry competitors as tables were set out and draped with black and white covers and skirts. Raffle prizes, calendars, t-shirts (both human and doggie) and commemorative Tea Party magnets were set out in preparation for the crowds. Crates and X-Pens were set up and filled with blankets and toys to hold the foster dogs coming to the Tea Party. The Silent Auction tent was a hub of activity behind a yellow caution tape barrier as all the tempting items up for bid were put on display. While they waited for the Tea Party to get into full swing, many people took advantage of the opportunity to order a delicious breakfast from the menu at Park Bench Café – and we saw several lucky pooches having their very own doggie breakfasts served up by the wonderful folks at Park Bench Café. Attendees arrived to find the Sign In Tent filled with the most fabulous Goodie Bags provided by Erica and Jen at All-Mighty. Rows upon rows of beautiful bags, each with a stuffed polka dot Mighty dog sticking his head out the top, filled the tables under the tent. Once guests signed the beautiful black and white guest book and received their name tags they were offered a Goodie Bag and a doggie bandana. This year, the bandanas displayed the Lili Chin designed Tea Party logo on several fashionable fall colors. Each attendee was also offered the opportunity to have their instant photo taken with their two-legged owners as a keepsake of their time at the Tea Party. All of the volunteers were sporting T-shirts with the Lili Chin Tea Party logo on them – the t-shirts were a popular item and most of them were snapped up early in the day. The Tea Party also offered the first public glimpse of the Boston Buddies 2009 Rescue Calendar and a crowd quickly formed around the canopy offering the calendars for sale. The Raffle tent was a hub of activity as people bought chances to win one of three fabulous prizes: a Melissa & Doug Life Size Plush Boston Wearing a stainless steel Boston/Crossbones necklace from Tiny Riot, a delicious cookie bouquet from Cookies in Bloom or a huge basket filled with all sorts of goodies for both dogs and people and another fabulous plush Boston. Nikki, Hope, Lucy, Precious and Bean were the Boston Buddies foster dogs in attendance. They all spent time both in the foster tent and out and about at the party, meeting and greeting all sorts of admirers. People were amazed at the progress Hope has made from the time she came into Boston Buddies from the shelter unable to walk – she truly touched so many hearts and all the prayers and wishes for her recovery came true. When she was not being held in someone’s arms, Hope could be found trotting around the Tea Party saying hello to all with a big smile on her face! Bean had a great time meeting several fellow red and white Bostons in attendance that day. Nikki was a popular girl who was rarely in the foster tent and Lucy and Precious, who were a bit overwhelmed by the whole day, had so many admirers that the foster tent was quite crowded most of the day! Next year we definitely need to have more help for Rachael! In front of the foster dog tent were the three beautiful collages setting forth photos of all the dogs rescued and assisted by Boston Buddies since January 2006. These collages really represent the heart and soul of Boston Buddies. Many attendees spent time during the day finding the photos of their Boston Buddy in the collages. Many thanks to Rachael for all her work in putting these collages together. Boston Buddies was honored to have the volunteers from Boston Brigade, another Boston rescue group that operates primarily in San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, join us this year with several of their foster dogs. With the tremendous increase in the number of Bostons needing rescue, the two rescue groups have developed a great cooperative working relationship that is allowing us to help more dogs. Many of the volunteers with Boston Brigade used to be with Boston Buddies so it was also a great opportunity to see some old friends and catch up. Corky was a huge hit at the Tea Party – showing how much progress he has made since entering Boston Brigade’s care a few short weeks earlier with both eyes swollen shut and one of the worst cases of untreated demodectic mange any of us have ever seen. We all thought Corky looked mighty fine in his luau shirt and sunglasses! The doggie contests in the Idol Arena were a highlight of the day. As spectators ringed the arena, the furry contestants entered to compete in contests ranging from highest jumper, to best smile, to biggest/smallest Boston, to best trick and most freckles. The costume parade was hilarious to watch as Bostons dressed as prisoners, merdogs, pigs, lobsters, skunks, butterflies, sailors, pumpkins, pirates and more trotted around the arena to everyone’s delight. Beautiful plush toy prizes were awarded to the winners and many were seen carrying around their awards the rest of the day. Many attendees took advantage of the opportunity to have a professional photo of their dog taken by D’Licious Chaos Photography on the tropical Tiki Bench set, complete with shirts, leis and other props. The resulting photographs were amazing and will make a great remembrance of the fun day. The Silent Auction tents (we had so many items we needed two large tents to hold them all) contained over 60 wonderful items up for bid, all of which had been donated to Boston Buddies by both individuals and corporate donors. For over two hours people could peruse the offerings and put down a bid on whatever tempted them. There were necklaces, vintage books, an autographed football, beautiful themed baskets overflowing with fantastic and fanciful items, dog beds filled with goodies, collector plates, original museum quality artwork, several prints and photo frames, beautiful collars and harnesses, designer rain wear and much, much more. When it was all over, we raised over $2,400 from the Silent Auction alone! All in all, it was a great day – the most successful Tea Party ever. Thank you to all of our attendees – we loved having you and hope to see you all again next year! So many people took wonderful photos of the day and have posted them online to share. We invite you to take a look at these delightful remembrances of a fun day! Video Montage by Annette Ferriero Pedra Bloom and Her Buddies at the Tea Party Photos By Jackie Bass Photography Doggie Contest Winners from Terry Sprague Finally, we would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the following donors and encourage you to support these businesses that support Boston Buddies Danger Dog Folk Art from Nepal D’Licious Chaos Photography – dliciouschaos@yahoo.com
2007 BOSTON TEA PARTY
Grey skies and rain the night before could not dampen the spirits of all who attended the 2007 Boston Buddies Tea Party on Saturday, September 22, 2007. Volunteers showed up early at The Park Bench Café in Huntington Beach to set up tents and tables in excited anticipation of the arrival of all the Boston Terriers and their escorts. And arrive they did!! We had over 110 Boston Terriers at the Tea Party – many of them sporting fashionable rain gear in case of rain.
At Check In attendees were welcomed with a wonderful goodie bag that included a stuffed toy, tennis ball and doggie biscuits. Canines and their family and friends also had their picture taken for inclusion in the official Boston Buddies 2007 Tea Party Photo Album. Once again, there were Boston Buddies bandanas for all dogs in attendance – pink for girls and blue for boys and yellow for the Boston Buddies dogs currently looking for forever homes.
We had a wonderfully successful Silent Auction offering fabulous items up for bid with all the proceeds going to Boston Buddies. Auction items included several original pieces of art donated by supporters and adopters – Phyllis Marks’ Boston terrier ink drawings were popular, as were the colorful ceramic tiles by Eduardo Tocatzin Sanchez and the Boston in a Tea Pot painting by Rosemary Bandis was the subject of some wild bidding. Beautiful custom made jewelry was also available for bid, including a Boston Angel Pup necklace, bracelet and pin from Diane Olson and a Boston charm bracelet from Jennifer Byrd. Several beautiful gift baskets had been made by a few of the Boston Buddies volunteers (thanks Kathy, Rachael and Michelle) – all of which were the subject of intense bidding! There were doggie spa baskets and backpacks full of goodies for both cats and dogs (thanks Cynthia) and two huge gift bags of wonderful doggie things – one for the Discriminating Boston Gentleman and the other for the Pampered Boston Princess (thanks Alina!). There was an MP3 player, a six week obedience course, a tiny Rescue a Boston t-shirt, a Sherpa travel bag and a wicker doggie crate – all donated by wonderful supporters of Boston Buddies. Two very nice dog collars were also offered – with the flowery Holly McClain rosebud collar going home with Amy – our special Boston Buddies foster girl. There were hand made Boston terrier holiday ornaments, frames and mirrors (thanks Betty), a Boston terrier musical snow globe and both vintage and modern Boston terrier cast iron door stops that were eyed longingly by many. Winning bidders went away with some wonderful items and Boston Buddies raised some urgently needed money to help us continue our efforts.
Back by popular demand was our raffle table where you could purchase tickets and place them in the drawing for the prize of your choice. We had an adorable Boston Terrier cookie bouquet, a basket full of doggie products with a giant stuffed Boston and a Boston Terrier tea pot in a basket. Everyone eagerly anticipated their number being drawn for the prize of their choice.
Amongst the attendees was Louie – the Boston Buddy who had been the subject of an intensive “dog hunt” after he and his Boston sister Ellie were abducted from their owner’s car in August 2006. You can read more about Louie and Ellie’s story here – Stolen Dogs Update. Louie’s new owners brought him and his Boston Buddy brother, Casey, to the Tea Party to meet everyone. What a wonderful treat to see Louie and how happy he is with his new family – we hear he is being spoiled rotten and has his new owners cooking for him!!!
While at the Tea Party, Casey, who has been battling a condition known as protein losing enteropathy, had a session with the Reiki Masters who were providing attendees with an introduction to the relaxing and healing techniques of Reiki. "Reiki" comes from the Japanese, "Rei," (light) and "Ki," (Life Force Energy). Trained Reiki practitioners use touch and other techniques to find and treat obstructed areas of the Life Force Energy flow. Promoting healing and general well-being, Reiki treatments balance and enhance mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual energy in both humans and animals. Casey’s owners told us that they thought Casey benefited from the treatment!
Also at the Tea Party was Amy – the little Boston mix who is recovering from surgery to correct her two luxating patellas – you can read her story here – Special Needs Buddies. Amy came to the Tea Party with her foster Boston Buddy brother Owen and her foster family. Before arriving at the Tea Party, Amy and her family stopped off to see Dr. K at Back Bay Vet for her first follow up visit after her surgery. Amy had her bandages removed and Dr. K said she could start moving around on a limited basis. Amy sat very nicely in her laundry basket during the Tea Party and met many new friends. She really wanted to enter some of the Doggie Contests but she knew that Dr. K would be upset with her if he found out she was frolicking around with the crowd!
Many of the attendees participated in the Doggie Contests held at 11:00 am. Contests were held for the biggest and smallest Boston and the longest and shortest tail. There was quite a spectrum of Bostons from the tiniest little girl weighing in at 10 pounds and wearing a very cute jean dress, to the biggest Boston boy standing close to two feet tall! And who can forget best dressed! There was stiff competition, as there were so many Bostons in their finest weekend attire. The winners were two Boston sisters in adorable Sunday dresses with little red wigs complete with bangs and braided pig tails. Quite the sight! The last game of the day was the toughest and the competition was fierce. Twelve Bostons had been training all year for the "longest sit contest." Initially, no Boston budged, their derrières planted firmly to the ground at Park Bench Cafe. All put up a great effort, even when a tempting tennis ball was rolled by them. In the end, after several tense minutes, it was determined that the last four Bostons still sitting were all winners. Every event winning Boston, and there were many, went away with prize bags stashed with sandwich crème cookies, a good or evil Cuz toy (depending on their owner's assessment!), a marrow bone and a coveted Zanies plush toy that they could destroy at a later date! All participants and their owners had a great time; in fact there were quite a few owners who bore a striking resemblance to their Boston, for which they were handsomely rewarded!
Our scheduled photographer had to cancel at the last minute due to health issues with her own dogs, but we were fortunate that both Terry Sprague, photographer, fellow rescuer and good friend to Boston Buddies, and Peggy Mundell, who had already volunteered her expertise in chair massage at the Tea Party, agreed to step in at the last minute and provide the opportunity for those in attendance to capture a special photographic remembrance of their canine companion. Terry brought along his assistant Charlie, a very handsome and well behaved Springer Spaniel. Big thanks to Peggy, Terry and Charlie! Terry and Peggy also roamed the event with our own Boston Buddies volunteer, Leslie Edwards, taking candid shots throughout the day.
Thanks to the efforts of several volunteers and foster families, almost all of the dogs in foster care with Boston Buddies were at the Tea Party – Zoey, Samantha, Sassy, Bubba, Baby, Dixie, Maile, Sadie, Fergie and Jack were all there meeting and greeting people for most of the day. Our Adoptions Coordinator, Rachael, had called all of our Approved Adopters and issued each one a personal invitation to attend the Tea Party and meet our available dogs. We had a great turnout of people and at the end of the day nine dogs went home with already approved or past adopters. We are so happy that these dogs have found forever homes with loving families.
We also had on display a beautiful collage of the 173 dogs that have been rescued and placed by Boston Buddies since the Tea Party in August of 2006. Those attendees who came with “Boston Buddies Alumni” who were rescued during the past year had fun looking at the collage and finding the photo of their special Buddy! Many thanks to Rachael who spent hours putting the collage together as a touching tribute to the dogs we’ve saved!
The weather unfortunately took a short turn for the worse and rain started falling a little bit before noon causing us to end the event earlier than expected. Even though the Tea Party ended prematurely we hope a good time was had by all. We are already planning next year’s Tea Party – hope to see you all there!!
Our sincere thanks to all who came out – your support of our efforts is deeply appreciated and all of the money raised that day will allow us to continue our important work.
2006 BOSTON TEA PARTY
Click Here to see Photos of the 2006 Tea Party
EditRegion1 |
