The 12th annual Mardi Growl pet parade and party, to benefit Young-Williams Animal Center, presented by Merchants of Beer, will be held in downtown Knoxville Saturday, March 2, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

The shindig begins when hundreds of dapper dogs and their people step off from Willow Avenue at 11 a.m. and parade down Central Street to Jackson Avenue. The parade continues south on Gay, west on Clinch Avenue, and north on Market Street, depositing revelers onto the festival site on Market Square and Krutch Park. More than 60 pet-friendly vendors will be on site.  

A temporary no-parking zone goes into effect at 5 a.m. on Willow Avenue, Market Street and Union Avenue. On-street parking along the parade route closes at 9 a.m. 

To accommodate parade registration and staging, Willow Avenue will be closed to traffic from 7 a.m. to noon between South Central and Patton streets. 

Market Street between Clinch and Union avenues, and Union Avenue between Walnut and Gay streets, will be closed to traffic between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.

People are encouraged to pick up after their pets during the festivities. Bring plastic bags from home or utilize the pet waste bag dispenser stations located in Market Square, Krutch Park, Krutch Park Extension, Summit Hill Drive and Gay Street, and PetSafe Village Downtown Dog Park. Please dispose of waste properly in trash containers (not recycling carts). 

Several downtown Knoxville restaurants, bars and boutiques are offering events and specials as part of the Mardi Growl Cajun Crawl through Tuesday, March 5. Visit https://www.downtownknoxville.org/ for more information.
More details about Mardi Growl are available at https://mardigrowl.org/.