Kent PawFest returns in 2026 with pets, trainers, rescues, and licensing

Kent is bringing PawFest back as a working event for pet owners who need more than a stroll past booths and food trucks. The city said the 2026 edition will run Saturday, June 6, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at accesso ShoWare Center, with adoptable pets, on-site pet licensing, a pet costume contest, food trucks and a push to bring in vendors, animal rescues, trainers and pet-related businesses.

That trainer-heavy lineup is what makes the return stand out. For households living with a dog that wants to sprint, bark, chase and solve every problem at full volume, a public event built around trainers and service providers offers something practical: a place to ask about recall, leash manners, behavior support and the kind of daily management that keeps an energetic dog from running the home. The city is not selling PawFest as simple entertainment. It is staging it as a concentrated morning where dog owners can meet the people who help keep high-drive dogs functional in real life.

This is not Kent’s first pass at the formula. The city held PawFest in 2025 at the same venue, accesso ShoWare Center at 625 W. James St. in Kent, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. That version was described as free and family-friendly, and it included animal rescues, pet adoption help, pet costume contest activities, dog agility-team demonstrations, dog trainers, animal-services information and food trucks. Kent also paired the weekend with a pre-event adoption pop-up called Kent Kitty Hall at Kent City Hall, where kittens and cats were made available for adoption through Regional Animal Services of King County.

That county agency is central to the event’s practical side. Regional Animal Services of King County says pet licenses are required for all dogs and cats eight weeks of age or older in its service area, and that license fees help fund pet adoptions, cruelty-and-neglect investigations, spay and neuter programs, community education and care for animals waiting for homes. The agency says it serves 24 contracting cities and unincorporated King County, covers more than 1,100 square miles and protects about 100,000 cats and dogs with identification through licensing each year.

RASKC also says its Kent adoption center has weekday and weekend walk-in hours, which gives PawFest a clear purpose beyond the one Saturday morning. For owners of active dogs, the event links adoption, licensing and training in one place, showing that Kent sees pet programming as part celebration and part service network, not just a community picnic.