More than 40 thousand Muscovites took part in the Lapki festival

On May 24 and 25, the Paws festival of friendship with pets, organized by VK and the city portal, took place in Khodynskoye Pole Park. mos.ru . The event brought together over 41,000 guests and 10,000 pets, as well as more than 50 popular artists, influencers and experts. The guests took 30 animals from shelters home and collected more than 350 kg of feed.

Musical and creative performances, lectures, master classes and competitions were held at the Lapki festival site. The main stage featured performances by artists, DJ sets, and meetings with influencers and their pets. More than 35 artists and bloggers took part in the Lapki festival events — Antoha MS, SERYABKINA, Anya Pokrov, RASA, Mary Gu, Denis Kukoyaka, Dasha Epova, Tima Akimov, Maha Goryacheva, Masha Pak, Sasha Spielberg, Milana Star, Alexey Sukharev, HOOOTDOGS, Corgi Luna, Spitz Cassi, Chapitosiki and their mistresses, Katya and Bani and Sofiadelmonstro and others.

The lecture hall hosted discussions, workshops and lectures with the participation of pet bloggers, zoopsychologists, dog handlers, veterinarians and other experts. The students learned how to create trending content with pets and develop their pet blog, how to raise pets and organize joint trips, how and how to help shelters and how city services help Muscovites in caring for pets. The development of a pet—friendly environment in Moscow was discussed at the festival, from creating a comfortable infrastructure for walking with animals to useful services in the field of pet care.

The guests of the festival were able to join the activities from the services of VK, the city portal mos.ru and other partners. In the Zen Premium zone, the participants got acquainted with animals from shelters, who were able to find a home thanks to the guests of the Paws festival. The Host of the Year award from VK communities took place on the site — over 500 people joined it, who for two weeks published posts with tasks from animals. The participants of the event purchased merchandise and accessories for pets — 253 thousand rubles were transferred to the verified VK Dobra funds that help homeless animals.

In the "City of Caring" space, the guests learned about the possibilities of animal support in the capital, and also visited an extension exhibition, charity and play activities. The festival participants collected more than 350 kg of feed, which will be sent to one of the city shelters. In the Moscow Youth zone, children and parents took part in workshops on creating toys and blankets for pets, and also saw performances by young talented musicians from among the residents of the Tavrida art cluster. Muscovites were told how to help cats and dogs in trouble in a few clicks — a charity service helps to do good deeds on mos.ru . In the area of the "My Pet" superservice, guests were able to get acquainted with digital tools to help pet owners. And in the cozy online broadcast space of the Moscow Zoo, you can observe wildlife: from tigers to large pandas.

"The Paws Festival has become a real family holiday for everyone who cares about pets. We are glad that together with the Moscow government and the team of the city portal mos.ru We managed to create a space for two days where everyone could not only relax and have a great time with their family and beloved pets, but also do a good deed — support shelters, find a new friend, or just be inspired by stories of caring and friendship. Such initiatives are important in order to create a culture of responsible attitude of Muscovites towards their pets," comments Dmitry Uvarov, Director of Strategic Partnership at VK.

"The Lapki Festival is a unique project that took place in the capital for the first time. The event brought together a huge number of Muscovites and, of course, their pets. The townspeople actively participated in master classes, kind activities, attended lectures and took home the wards of zoo shelters and charitable foundations. Moscow is definitely a city of caring people," said Ekaterina Dragunova, Chairman of the Committee on Public Relations and Youth Policy of the City of Moscow.

The festival was held as part of the "Summer in Moscow" project.