events

Mark your calendars, Scottish Terrier lovers. April 17th is Fala Day in Berks County in southeastern Pennsylvania:

In honor of Fala’s birthday, join the National Park Service for a day of “doggie” fun at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site on Saturday, April 17th. Special activities which begin at 10 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. remember Fala, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s favorite dog, who traveled with the President nearly everywhere he went. The activities will focus on getting out with your pooch and enjoying the outdoors. Pets must be leashed and visitors are expected to clean up after them.

“We are encouraging visitors to come with their dogs and take a walk, bring a picnic lunch and enjoy their national park,” said Superintendent Shean-Hammond. “April is a beautiful time to explore the miles of trails at Hopewell, French Creek and their surrounding Hopewell Big Woods,” she added.

Plans for the day include presentations featuring the story of FDR’s Fala (who was born in April, 1940) held at 11 am, 12:30 pm 1:30 pm and 2:30 pm. Fun filled dog competitions (with ribbons awarded) will also be featured at these times in the historic village.

According to one of the event’s organizers, “this is an extremely popular event with 380+ dogs attending last year. However, we have gotten very few Scotties and one year we had no Scotties at Fala’s party. If you could spread the word through your network, we’d be very grateful.”

Get out there, Pennsylvania Scotties and anyone else in the vicinity or willing to take a road trip. For more information stop by the park’s visitor center, call 610-582-8773, visit the park’s web site at, or send an e-mail to hofu_superintendent@nps.gov.

The Scottie News wants to see photographic proof that Scottish Terriers attended this year’s event.

P.S.  And while we’re on the subject of Fala events, there’s also the Fala Gala on May 22 at Wilderstein Historic Site in Rhinebeck, New York—upstate in the Hudson Valley.

Tagged as: events, Fala

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Well Hello There, originally uploaded by VeeBarGee.

And while we’re on the subject of Fala, the chairman of events at Wilderstein Historic Site in Rhinebeck, New York—upstate in the Hudson Valley, recently wrote to say:

We are having our bi-annual Fala Gala this spring on May 22, and I wanted to share some information for your website and fellow Scottie fans…

Wilderstein was the home for the Suckley family for over 150 years. Margaret (Daisy) Suckley, the last resident, was a distant cousin to Franklin Roosevelt,and his close companion. She gave to FDR the Scottish terrier Fala. Daisy was also responsible for Fala’s care when she travelled with the president, as she did frequently. When she passed away at 99 years old, Widlerstein Preservation was formed to maintain the home and grounds for public use and enjoyment. We are a non-profit organization (working) to preserve this unique site.

This will be our 7th bi-annual gala, and we would certainly be pleased if any of your readers had the opportunity to visit the site, especially during our event. The day is always a fun day with Scotties, and many dogs of all persuasions romping around the grounds.

Mark your calendars, everyone!

Tagged as: events, Fala

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