We are honored to join kids and their families once again at the 28th annual Rye Derby and Healthy Kids Day! There will be a lot of fun activities for the whole family! Along with us at Pet Pantry having our own booth where we will be giving out FREE treats and some awesome swag for your four legged family members!

To register for races please go to the Rye Derby and Healthy Kids Day website. Below is some history on the derby.

" Terry Birdsong was serving on the Rye YMCA’s Board of Directors during the 1980s. It was a difficult financial time, with waning interest in membership coupled with a series of unexpected emergency repairs. The board was forced to consider all options, even the possible closing of the YMCA. At one brain-storming session, Terry had the idea of a road race as a fund-raiser. Then she remembered her neighbor who ran past her house every day. Eamonn Coghlan was a world-class runner; a former Olympian! Eamonn agreed to participate and his Irish roots gave Terry the name “Rye Derby”. Now the entire board was enthused and pitching in. Paul Fendler helped map the course, and every board member rolled up their sleeves to aid the effort. “It really was the start of a new vitality and financial health for the Y.” recalled Terry. “Key ingredients to our success were Eamonn’s involvement and the dedicated board members.” The group included Kit Hennison, Mack Cunningham, Peter Donovan, Joe Carlucci, Peter Donahue and Nancy Haneman."