Summer is a Bulldog-fest in Hungary … quite literally!

Gilbertson & Page’s Hungarian distributor, PetFoodCare, is one of the sponsors of a remarkable series of events for Bulldogs. Every year, between March and October, key Hungarian cities host their round of the ‘Bulldog Piknik’, mass gatherings of bulldog owners, bulldogs and all the paraphernalia and suppliers that go with them.

An interesting point for us Brits is that over 90% of the bulldogs attending these events are English or French Bulldogs.

The climax of this series of festivals is in July each year, where a four day event is held on the shores of Lake Velencei (or Velence), between Budapest and Székesfehérvár. Normally a major tourist destination (and Hungary’s third biggest lake), over 2000 people turn up for multi-day stays.

At this year’s ‘Visparty Bulldog Piknik’, virtually every significant name in canine supplies was present at the festival, whether giving prizes, sampling, giving health and nutrition advice or running competitions.

To give you a sense of scale, PetFoodCare were guiding owners through the Heritage range and provided over 1000 product samples during the 4 day event. Even the TV cameras turn up for this event, as you can see here http://www.youtube.com/user/bulldogpiknik?feature=watch

The aforementioned prizes are an important part of the final Piknik as Saturday witnesses a hard-fought version of what the Hungarians call the Bulldog Beauty Parade. This pageant-like event involves the awarding of over 50 prizes!

If you’re a bulldog owner and you fancy a few days with warm weather, beaches and an awful lot of bulldog action (and some freebies), Lake Velencei looks like one of the best places to be next year!