Around this time of year, my mother would mark the emergence from the bitter Indiana winters with her annual spring cleaning.

Windows were opened and everything got scrubbed whether it needed it or not. After being cooped up in the stuffy house for months, our spaniel, Sparky, was also part of this fresh-air ritual. Mom would order her out to the yard to "blow the stink off."

She bounded out joyfully as if released from doggy jail.

My three pooches also enjoy their outdoor time rolling in the reborn grass in our back yard. But I look forward to clipping on their leashes and getting out to dog-friendly festivals as a way to embrace the seasonal change.

From fundraisers to wine tastings, there are plenty of opportunities to get out, let your dog practice his social skills, and finally blow the winter stink off.

Mutt Strut

Start this Saturday at the Mutt Strut, a fundraising festival at Wasena Park in Southwest Roanoke that benefits Carilion Clinic's hospice patient fund.

The event features a long list of doggy competitions, including a dog/owner lookalike contest and a costumed dog pageant. Registration and entry fees are required to enter the various contests, but the event is free to spectators. Registration starts at 9 a.m.; registration forms and a complete schedule of competitive events can be found at www.carilionclinic.org/muttstrut.

Your well-mannered pooch will have to keep you at the other end of his leash for all activities at the Mutt Strut. Sue Huntington, the hospice's volunteer coordinator, said a city or county license tag or other proof of a current rabies vaccination will be required for all pooches.

Huntington said the event will feature plenty of activities for two-legged folks, including a bake sale with $1 decorate-it-yourself cupcakes, 10-minute seated massages for $5, and face painting for kids.

A demonstration by the dogs of the hospice's therapy program starts at 11 a.m. followed by a "Blessing of the Paws" administered by the hospital's chaplain.

Huntington said the patient fund helps families deal with expenses associated with hospice care, including last-wish requests for patients and funeral costs.

Woofstock

Tie-dyed shirts and Birkenstocks are not required to get your groovy on at the third annual Woofstock Dog Festival, an event of music, food and games for dogs and their families.

The on-leash event is scheduled for Saturday, May 30, in Elmwood Park in downtown Roanoke.

Festivities start at noon and include doggy competitions for best costume and best kisser. There will also be an ugliest dog contest, but I prefer to think of it as a pageant for unconventionally beautiful pooches.

Concessions and vendors peddling a variety of pet-related products will be available.

Admission is $7 for adults and free for dogs and kids ages 12 and younger. A schedule of musical performers, as well as discount admission coupons, can be found on the event's Web site, www.woofstockdogfestival.com.

Waynette Anderson, president of Sponsor Hounds, the event-planning group staging the festival, said donations of pet food, blankets and cleaning supplies for the Roanoke Valley SPCA, the Franklin County Humane Society and Dalmatian Rescue of Southwest Virginia will be collected as attendees enter the park.

Anderson said her company founded the event because of the staff's devotion to their dogs. She said Sponsor Hounds' office is populated with employees' pooches on a daily basis.

"We're very inspired by dogs," she said. "They are among our favorite people."

Mark your calendars

If you like to tote your pooch out to the country and you are a fan of Virginia wines, you may want to mark your calendar for a couple of events this summer.

You can take your leashed pup to Wine and Wags, a tasting and tour at the Lexington Valley Vineyards in Rockbridge Baths on June 12.

On July 11, you can sample a variety of Virginia wines and food at the fifth annual Horse and Hound Wine Festival at Johnson's Orchard in Bedford County.

Keep checking The Happy Wag blog at roanoke.com for details on these and other dog-friendly festivals this summer.

Nona Nelson's Happy Wag column runs every other Monday in Extra.