Thursday, April 24, 2025
4 PM
Welcome Parade / Blessing of the Hounds / Social
Bring your hounds and come to our Welcome Parade for the Blessing of the Hounds, a Hot Dog Social, Free Raffle, and a Goodie Bag
Location: Gettysburg Outlet Mall Parking Lot (by the flag pole)
7 PM
Bill's Get-to-Know-You Game Night*
The Axell family will again provide a fun evening of games and surprises designed to help you get to know other guests, meet up with old friends, and maybe win prizes!
Location: Grand Ballroom, Eisenhower Hotel
* Event Ticket Required
Cost: $6/person
Friday, April 25, 2025 - Allstar Center Opens at 9 AM
8:00 AM Battlefield Walk (No ticket or bracelet required)
The Florida Brigade at Gettysburg
William Thomas, Licensed Battlefield Guide, Gettysburg National Military Park
The smallest brigade in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia hailed from Florida. This gallant band of less than 800 soldiers made two sorties across nearly the same ground on successive days, including in support of Pickett's Charge. They sustained casualties in excess of 60% of their numbers. The program will introduce some of the brave men who made those attacks and some who faced them. We'll walk the route and visit the monument.
Instructions: Use the Florida State Monument as your guide. That is where the program will begin. You can park along Confederate Avenue or in the lot at Pitzer Woods. From the monument, you will proceed along a dirt path and through the woods toward the Spangler Farm. You will then proceed up the lane to near Emmitsburg Road. From there, you will walk north to the monument of the 1st Massachusetts Regiment. This program will be approximately 2 hours long. The walk is relatively easy on flat ground.
9:00 AM Allstar Center Opens
Registration / Vendor Shopping
(Raffle Ticket Sales Start at 11 AM)
11:00 AM Speaker #1, Activities Area, Allstar Center (Bracelet Required)
New Research: John Stephan, Spectra Therapy
LASERWRAP is the latest "invention" for dogs with acute or chronic injuries, arthritis, or compromised ailments. If you participate in sports with your dogs, greyhound or otherwise, Laserwrap has been designed with you in mind. It helps with conditioning and offers quicker recovery after activity. Chronic conditions such as arthritis, joint disease and other issues can be helped with this new, exciting technology.
Noon Speaker #2, Activities Area, Allstar Center (Bracelet Required)
John Parker, Longtime Greyhound Enthusiast and Breed History Buff
This Noble Breed: A Brief History of the Greyhound
Long celebrated in art and literature, no breed has a history as ancient and illustrious as the Greyhound. John Parker's talk will delve into the most recent genome research of the breed's origins, debunk some old myths about breed history, and explain why understanding the Greyhound breed's long history will enhance our enjoyment of today's Greyhounds.
1:00 PM Speaker #3, Activities Area, Allstar Center (Bracelet Required)
Jennifer Saker & Ducky McComas
Administrators, Greyhound Amber Alert Facebook Group
Greyhound Amber Alert: Safety and Recovery of Lost Sighthounds
"Help! My Dog is Lost!"
Administrators, Greyhound Amber Alert Facebook Group
What do you do first? Who do you call? Join us for a critical information session about what to do if your hound escapes you. GPS technologies will also be discussed in this crucial, life-saving session! Please don't wait for it to happen to you and then be frantic. Know what to do ahead of time.
Jennifer spent 12 years on the board of Greyhound Adventures & Networking Group of Greater Boston, where she assisted with education and resources for New England adopters and agencies regarding lost greyhounds. She has participated in numerous lost dog searches and is passionate about grey safety. She resides in Massachusetts with her 12-year-old whippet, Bingley, and has been mom to six greyhounds.
Ducky has been involved in lost greyhound searches for nearly 20 years, back when faxing and phones, not Facebook, were the only fast ways to spread the word. She wrote the "Lost Greyhound Emergency Booklet," available free on the Greyhound Amber Alert page, to provide frantic owners with a step-by-step guide to finding their lost hound. She has been mom to 16 greyhounds and other sighthounds.
2:00 PM Speaker #4, Activities Area, Allstar Center (Bracelet Required)
Jess Hayward, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate, Cornell Veterinary Biobank & Department of Biomedical Sciences
Dr. Hayward is conducting a genetic study involving sighthound saliva (which she will be collecting during GiG). She will discuss her project and other relevant sighthound genetic research. (More information coming soon.)
4:00 PM Allstar Center Closes
Thanks for joining us today! We hope you will join us for our evening event!
6:30 PM Pajama Party Banquet*
Join us for the most fun you can have in your pajamas!
If you have ever attended one of our parties, you know how much fun it can be. We have music, contests, great food, snacks, people and dog games, raffles, and other activities to have fun with your dogs!
You must preregister and buy a ticket to eat at the buffet, but you are welcome to come after 7 p.m. to join in the fun for free.
This is our premier weekend event; we hope you will join us!
Note: You must be registered for the event to sign up for ticketed events.
Location: Grand Ballroom, Eisenhower Hotel
6:00 p.m. Doors/Cash Bar Opens for Ticket Holders Only
* Event Ticket Required
Cost: $35/person
Saturday, April 26, 2025 - Allstar Center Opens at 9 AM
8:00 AM World War II Museum Tour *
Guided Tour
We have found yet another great new museum: The World War II Museum in Gettysburg! We will offer you a guided tour of this fantastic museum. You may bring your dog and feel free to walk the grounds as well. To see more about this cool place, go to www.visitww2.org and check it out.
Note: You must be registered for the event to sign up for ticketed events.
Location:
845 Crooked Creek Road
Gettysburg, PA
*Event Ticket Required
Cost: $9/person
8:30 AM ART WORKSHOP with GREYHOUND DESIGN ARTIST LINDA K EVANS*
Come join "Hidden Hounds" Greyhound Design Artist Linda K Evans for GiG's longest-running Art Workshop.
This year, she'll offer an all-new theme using colored pencils, markers, ink stamping and Greyhound templates so you can let your creative side come and play! You'll create a finished, framed piece of Greyhound art ready to hang and enjoy. All materials are provided, and no artistic skills are required! Bring your love of hounds, and take home your finished and framed masterpiece!
Note: You must be registered for the event to sign up for ticketed events.
Registration is capped at 25
Location: Allstar Center Activities Area
*Event Ticket Required
Cost: $38/person
9:00 AM Allstar Center Opens
(Registration / Vendor Shopping / Raffle Ticket Sales)
10:30 AM Costume Contest
A perennial favorite!
This year, our prize categories will be:
Best Pajamas
Best Group
Do Your Own Thing
We will gather in the back of the Activities (speakers') area in the Allstar Center, and you will be lined up according to category. We will then parade through the Allstar before returning to the Activities Area for final judging and to award prizes.
The costumes impress every year, so put on your best creative thinking cap and show us what you can do!
11:00 AM Ice Cream Social for People & Dogs
Hosted by Senior Sighthound Sanctuary
Donations Accepted
Location: Just outside of the Activities Area in the Allstar Center
11:30 AM Speaker #1, Activities Area, Allstar Center (Bracelet Required)
Ace Mattocks
"If Love Were Enough"
Ace is a seasoned sighthound owner, trainer, and back-by-popular-demand GiG speaker. In light of the recent loss of his heart and service dog, Broccoli, Ace shares the challenges he faced when Broc was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in November 2022. From amputation to taking part in the Yale vaccine trials of 2023 to navigating grief, Ace seeks to offer information, support, and guidance to those who have struggled, are struggling, and will struggle with the osteo diagnosis in their hound.
12:30 PM Speaker #2, Activities Area, Allstar Center (Bracelet Required)
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Michael Guilliard, MA, VetMB, CertSAO, MRCVS, Orthopaedics Ltd., Cheshire, UK
Superficial Digital Flexor Tendonectomy is now the accepted best treatment for corns. Dr. Guilliard pioneered this procedure and has now treated more than 400 cases. Dr. Guilliard is a private practice veterinarian who has developed an interest in greyhound injuries over the years.
His pioneering work with flexor tenotomy and tendonectomy has made him a premier lecturer/consultant. He has been recognized with the prestigious BSAVA Simon Award for his contributions to small animal surgery, and he was named Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons for his thesis on distal limb injuries in the racing greyhound. His most recent work involves a continuing study of the long-term results of tenotomies and new research on foot and pad injuries in greyhounds.
Join us in welcoming Dr. Guilliard to GiG 2025!
1:30 PM Speaker #3, Activities Area, Allstar Center (Bracelet Required)
Russ Feilen, New South Wales Racing, Australia
Future-Proofing International Greyhound Rehoming
Aussie Connection Update
Join Russ for a discussion about greyhound racing in Australia and his ongoing efforts to place retired racers in North America. Russ has worked within the racing industry for over seven years in media/corporate affairs, wagering, and domestic and international greyhound welfare and rehoming. He has been instrumental in creating and building Greyhound Racing New South Wales and Aussie Mates international rehoming in the U.S. and Canada. Since the program's inception in 2023, over 1200 beautiful retired racers have found forever homes in North America. Russ will also have a booth among our vendors this weekend, so check it out!
2:00 PM Raffle Tickets Drawn & Posted
(Note: Winners will have until 4 p.m. to pick up your raffle prizes)
3:00 PM PAPER MACHE CARTUNA HOUND SPECTACULAR ART WORKSHOP*
PAPER MACHE CARTUNA HOUND SPECTACULAR ART CLASS with the hound-famous Steve Wirtz! This fun, messy DIY workshop allows you to create a sculpture in the style of Steve Wirtz. This 3-hour class will have you gluing paper strips over pre-made wire armatures (forms). The hard part is done for you. Wirtz will show you tips and techniques to make your own sculpture! Absolutely no artistic talent is needed. Just show up wearing clothes you don't mind getting messy (or an apron) and a rag or towel to wipe off your hands now and then. All other supplies/materials are provided. Additional wire forms/kits will be available for purchase.
Note: You must be registered for the event to sign up for ticketed events.
Registration Capped at 50
Location: Allstart Center Activities Area
*Event ticket required.
Cost: $45/person
4:00 PM Allstar Center Closes
Note: No vendor shopping on Sunday. The Allstar Center will not be open.