Beneva & Gifts is hosting a live event for their 4^th annual Halloween Pet Costume Photo Contest. The live event will be held Sun­day, October 16^th from 2:00 to 4:00p.m. at Beneva, located at 6980 Beneva Road in Sarasota.  The purpose of our event is to gain exposure to local businesses and have a little fall fun.

The afternoon festivities will include pet related give­aways and goodie bags, and for area pet owners to parade their pets in their spookiest and most creative Halloween attire.  Stephanie Dubsky of www.stephaniedubskyphotography.com will be on hand, taking professional photos of costumed animals. All photos will be digitally available to pet owners to submit to www.beneva.com/photocontest.  Pet owners will also have the opportunity to purchase the prints taken by Stephanie after the event.

Several wonderful local businesses have teamed up with Beneva to promote healthy pets and fun prizes for our participants.  Our grand prize, provided by www.beverlyhillsdog.net is a 10 day pet day care pass along with a $100 grooming certificate.  2^nd place, provided by www.dogstreetphoto.com, is a pet photo package valued at $300.  3^rd place, provided by www.wolfgangbakery.com, is a $100 doggie basket.  On top of that, Beneva will provide five $50 gift cards for consolation prizes.  Winners are determined by the number of votes that are cast online at www.beneva.com/photocontest.  Participants are encour­aged to promote their pet on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to gain votes for their pet in costume.  Beneva’s contest is NOT just limited to images of cats and dogs; photos of any kind of animals are eligible. Many thanks to www.SarasotaPet.com  and www.SarasotaDog.com for providing media, web and local support for our photo contest.  Even the LTM Party Stores located in Sarasota County will provide 20% off any pet costume when “Beneva” is named.

Beneva looks for ways to give back to our local community through special events and fundraising efforts.  Years ago, Beneva began an ongoing Helping Hands Fundraiser which gives back 5% of every order when one of the non-profit organizations is mentioned online or over the phone.  Helping Hands participants such as Cat Depot, Humane Society of Sarasota County, Kickapoo Rescue, Big Cat Habitat, Racing Dog Rescue Project and Peace River Refuge have benefited from these fundraising dollars over the years.  Please remember to mention them while placing your holiday orders with Beneva & Gifts.

Photo Submissions begin on October 3^rd and ends on November 2^nd.  All winners will be chosen on Friday, November 4^th.  Visit www.beneva.com/photocontest to submit, view and vote on contestants.