Local Event: Tucson Subaru Pets of Pima Parade & Friends of PACC Festival

Tucson residents and their pets will have a chance to take over Fourth Avenue and nearby streets on Sunday, March 7, 2027, for the seventh annual Tucson Subaru Pets of Pima Parade and Friends of PACC Festival. The event offers a morning of costumes, music, animals and neighborhood activity while raising money and awareness for programs at Pima Animal Care Center. For people who live, work or spend time downtown, the celebration will also bring a large crowd to the Fourth Avenue area from late morning through the afternoon.

The parade will begin at 10 a.m. at Sixth Street and Second Avenue. Participants will head west along Sixth Street, turn south onto Sixth Avenue, then travel east on Seventh Street before finishing at the festival area. The parade is scheduled to run until 11:30 a.m., while the Friends of PACC Festival will continue until 2 p.m. between Fifth Avenue and Third Avenue. Organizers describe the event as a community celebration of the relationship between people and their animals, with pets of nearly every kind invited to take part.

Dogs and cats are expected to be among the most visible participants, but the event also welcomes birds, reptiles, pocket pets and farm animals. The procession will include more than animals and their owners. Marching bands, floats, entertainers, costumed characters and unusual vehicles are all part of the planned spectacle, giving spectators plenty to watch even if they are attending without a pet. The festival afterward will add vendors, local pet businesses, community organizations, sponsors and activities for both people and animals.

The Fourth Avenue Merchants Association is again partnering with Friends of Pima Animal Care Center to produce the event. Friends of PACC organizes the parade as a fundraiser and public awareness effort for PACC, the county’s animal care center. Money raised supports lifesaving work for animals and services for the people who care for them. The 2027 event’s organizers are asking participants to register individually or as teams made up of friends, family members or co-workers, then raise money or make a donation of at least $50 to support animals in Pima County.

The event has expanded since an earlier edition that was promoted as the fifth Tucson Subaru Pets of Pima Parade. That parade, held on March 8, featured the theme “Wizard of Paws, There’s no place like home,” along with more than 1,000 pets, many wearing costumes. Organizers at the time called it the largest procession to that point, and the accompanying festival had filled every vendor space. The growth reflects the parade’s role as both a fundraiser and a highly visible gathering for people who want to celebrate animals in a festive setting.

Funds from that earlier event were designated for several PACC related needs, including free medical outreach events, lifesaving surgeries and personalized pet identification tags for Pima County pet owners. Those priorities show how the fundraiser connects a lighthearted public event with practical support for vulnerable animals and the residents who depend on PACC services. The 2027 announcement likewise identifies support for pets and people served by Pima Animal Care Center as the event’s central purpose.

The earlier fifth annual event also included accommodations intended to make attendance easier. The Tucson High School Animal Rescue Group offered $7 parking at designated locations, including areas near Eighth Street and First Avenue and at Roskruge K8 Magnet School, with proceeds benefiting Friends of PACC. Sun Link allowed leashed pets on board for that event. PACC also adjusted its hours that day, opening from noon to 4:30 p.m. so staff members could participate. Those arrangements were announced for the earlier parade, and attendees planning for 2027 should check the current event information for updated parking, transit and shelter hours.

People who cannot attend in person were also able to watch rebroadcasts of the earlier parade on local television. KMSB FOX11 scheduled broadcasts on March 15 and March 22, while KTTU CW18 planned airings on March 14 and March 21. The organizers have said additional details and a parade map are available online for the current event. For those attending March 7, the most direct way to participate is to register, meet at the parade starting point, and stay for the festival’s vendor fair and activities, which will keep the Fourth Avenue area active until 2 p.m.