PICA Pet Policy

We ask that all attendees leave their pets at home since they will not be allowed on the main lawn, in the food court, nor in the `Ohana Korner areas. Service animals, on the other hand, are allowed in all locations.  While it's true there have been pets at the San Francisco Aloha Festival in the past, PICA is asking that owners not bring them for these reasons:

o Some pets have demonstrated aggressive behavior toward people and service animals (which are allowed onsite by law).

o Some pets have actually bitten people or gotten in fights with other pets.

o Some attendees have expressed heightened concern about having pets present, especially around their children.

o Pets can behave unpredictably when surrounded by large numbers of people they do not know. The San Francisco Aloha Festival can get extremely crowded at times, especially in the grassy vendor area. If a child or adult is injured by a pet, regardless of the reason, the pet owner could face serious liability.

o Some owners are not watching their pets carefully and not picking up after them.

Some of these issues present a danger to the public. PICA loves pets too, but we need to keep the San Francisco Aloha Festival a safe family event for everyone. While not all pets fall into the categories above, we do not have the luxury of choosing some over others, nor is it possible for us to screen each one. Therefore, we are asking all attendees to leave their pets at home.

Note that since Aloha Festival is celebrated on open grounds, some people who are not aware of our policy may walk by and decide to enter the event with their pets. Security team members will be asking that any pets be removed from restricted areas.  PICA also will work to make the pet policy more visible and widely known at our Festival.

PICA's pet policy does not apply to service animals, which are always welcome at the San Francisco Aloha Festival.  The Americans with Disabilities Act states "Service animals are animals that are individually trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities, such as guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling wheelchairs, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, or performing other special tasks. Service animals are working animals, not pets."

Thank you for your understanding and for keeping our event a safe one!

Last Revised 7/5/2009