Who doesn't love a trilogy?

Humane Pennsylvania will hold the 49th annual Walk for the Animals at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 2, at the Berks County Fairgrounds, 1216 Hilltop Road, Leesport.

Just like the previous two years, the "Star Wars" theme is back for this year's walk. In 2024, a "May the Fourth Be With You" theme was used; "The Empire Bites Back" was the theme last year. This year is the "Return of the Walkers." This follows the original trilogy "Star Wars" from episode IV to VI.

"People are super into it," said Humane PA president and CEO Karel Minor, who noted that some people and pets dressed to match the theme in the past two years. "It brings in some new folks too who might not normally come for a dog walk but might go to a comic-con. It seems to have worked."

Held yearly during "Be Kind to Animals" week, the event is the longest continuously held walk-a-thon in the state and possibly beyond.

"It kind of started out as just the basic walk-a-thon thing, and about 20 years ago, it started growing," Minor said. "It's [now] more of a festival ... you can enjoy yourself, have a good time and learn about animals and your community."

The walk itself is a flat, roughly half-mile loop around the fairgrounds. Walkers are welcome to walk with their pets and can do the loop two or three times if they please. People can still attend the event without participating in the walk.

Registration is not required to attend, but Humane PA asks that people pay the fee to register to raise funds. To register, visit http://www.humanepa.org/events/walk-for-the-animals/. Anybody who registers before Wednesday, April 15, is guaranteed a T-shirt included in the cost of registration.

Humane PA recommends that walkers register in a "pack" if possible, signing up as a group of friends, family or co-workers to fundraise together.

"We discovered a bunch of years ago that big groups of friends were getting together and walking, raising money together as sort of a team effort," Minor said. "So we created what we call packs ... it's kind of a way to make it more fun, particularly for groups that get together to do it."

Humane PA is still searching for both sponsors and vendors for the event; visit the aforementioned link if interested.

"What we like about this event is that it's not one person writing a giant check; it's a lot of people coming together and bringing small donations together to make a really big impact for our organization," Minor said.

In the past, Humane PA has raised over $100,000 in a year from the walk. This year, the nonprofit is shooting for at least $85,000.

Outside of the walk and vendors, Humane PA holds various dog contests at the event. One is a competition to see what dog looks the most like its owner. In the past, organizations that train bomb and drug dogs have held demonstrations at the event.

All proceeds from the walk will benefit Humane PA, which hosts thousands of animals in its shelters every year. Humane PA operates the Freedom Center for Animal Life-Saving, 1801 N. 11th St., Reading; the Humane PA Lancaster Campus, 2195 Lincoln Highway East; the Humane Veterinary Hospital, 1729 N. 11th St., Reading; the Giorgi Family Community Resource Center, 1350 Schuylkill Ave., Reading; and the Danielle Ruiz-Murphy Dog Park, 503 S. Center Road (Route 82), Birdsboro.

Those with questions about the walk may contact info@humanepa.org.