It’s that time of year again! We are pleased to announce B-WAG 2009 which will occur on Saturday, May 30, 2009 in Wrentham, MA at the Ladies Dog Club dog show and Airedale Terrier Club of New England Regional Specialty. There are over 30 Airedales entered at this show which is the biggest entry for the local show circuit with the exception of the National Airedale Specialty held in PA each year with roughly 130 Airedales. We will update this post with the ring time for Airedales when we have that information, however, typically Airedales are first thing in the morning starting around 8am. See ring time update at the bottom of this article.
What is B-WAG?
Why it’s the annual Boston-area Woodcrest Airedalers Get-together of course.
As you may know we try to hold an annual gathering for those who are interested in getting an Airedale puppy from Woodcrest and those who already have dogs from Woodcrest. Last year we had more than a dozen people in attendance. The gathering is an excellent time for everyone to get questions answered from other Airedale owners and to see what dog shows are all about, of course we love having our own cheering section for our dogs too.
We try to make this event as central as possible to as many potential attendees as we can which means we try to hold it in or near the Boston area. For the past few years we have held B-WAG at the Bay Colony Cluster of dog shows at Bayside Expo in Boston during the month of December. However, that group of dog shows will not long be held at this location having been moved down to Providence which is considerably less convenient for everyone including us. For that reason we are trying the gathering at a new location and we will see how it goes.
Where is B-WAG?
The new location is:
Crackerbarrel Fairgrounds
Wrentham Developmental Center Emerald St
Wrentham, MA 02093
Directions (approximately 40 minutes from Boston):
From Rt. 95 North & South - Exit 6B to 495 North to Exit 15 (Rt. 1A). At end of ramp follow Route 1A North
for 3 miles; stay on Rt. 1A; go past the intersection of Rt. 140. Take left at blinking yellow light (North St.).
First left on Emerald St. to show grounds.
From West - Mass. Tpk. (Rt. 90) East to 495 South to Exit 15. Take left at end of ramp, follow directions
above.
This is an outdoor dog show and short of very extreme weather conditions it will be held rain or shine and we will be there regardless of the weather. You should check the weather before leaving and dress appropriately. Please bring sunscreen and hats in case of direct sun or rain coats, muck boots, and umbrellas in case of rain. There will be some tents for shade or protection from rain. You can bring your own lightweight folding chair to sit in (the ones that collapse into a carrying bag that you can sling over your shoulder are typical at such shows). Outdoor shows are always a lot of fun and will be a new experience for those that have attended our little gatherings in the past at indoor shows.
Since this is the Airedale Terrier Club of New England Regional Specialty there will be some added benefits of attending this show. There is typically a buffet style luncheon which costs a few dollars and the money goes into the club fund. Also, there is usually a silent auction of Airedale related memorabilia type items which you might be interested in. There is also concessions that have all types of dog stuff available for purchase that can be fun to walk through. There may be a small parking fee at this dog show, but I am unsure how much that would be at this time.
As always, unentered dogs are not allowed at dog shows which means that you should leave your own Airedales at home. This show is held in a field and ticks can be a problem, so this is probably best anyway. Also, sometimes the weather can be quite hot which would not be good for dogs left in the car. There has been some interest in a gathering where the dogs could attend and we will be happy to announce that if/when it happens, but it would need to be organized by someone closer to the area than we are.
For those looking to make a day of it, there is an amazing Outlet mall right in Wrentham. The Wrentham Village Premium Outlets consists of 170 outlet stores from Burberry and Hugo Boss to Coach, Gymboree, and Nike.
Please come! We look forward to seeing everyone and it will be a whole year before this show rolls around again now that the Boston show has moved locations so we won’t see you in December as we have previously.
-Information about this and previous B-WAG events
UPDATE 5/20/09:
The Judging Program has been posted so we now have the Airedale Ringtime for you so you will know when to arrive.
15 Airedale Terriers Sweeps in Ring #14 at 8:30am - Entry Breakdown (5 - 10) 1
Airedale Terriers Veteran Sweeps in Ring #14 at 8:30am - Entry Breakdown (0 - 1) 34
Airedale Terriers in Ring #14 at 9:15 - Entry Breakdown 10 - 18 - (3 - 2) - 1
For traffic and parking reason you may want to plan to arrive closer to 8am on Saturday, May 30th. Rings are marked with flags indicating the ring number, so just look for the ring marked #14. Set up your chairs wherever you feel comfortable outside the ring. We will be under the tent at the ring getting ready to show so please feel free to stop by and say hi before ring time. Everyone will watch the Airedales in the ring and after Airedales are done showing we can all get together and talk!
If you plan to attend please shoot us an email to let us know so that we can keep an eye out for you. We look forward to seeing you there!
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Thanks to everyone who attended the 2009 gathering. See photos from this year's gathering at Dogged Dogdom.
