Michigan Travel · Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo dog show Nov. 5–8: four days of AKC judging at the Expo Center, free for spectators, with Meet the Breeds on Saturday
KALAMAZOO — Four West Michigan kennel clubs are putting on back-to-back dog shows at the Kalamazoo County Expo Center from Thursday through Sunday, and anyone who wants to watch can walk in for free.
The West Michigan Harvest Cluster runs Nov. 5–8 at the Expo Center, 2900 Lake St., with show and trial hours from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day, according to the event’s premium list. All judging is indoors. Spectator admission is free, general parking is $5 a day, show catalogs are $10 and food is sold on site.
Each day is a separate American Kennel Club all-breed show with obedience and rally trials, hosted by a different club:
Thursday, Nov. 5: Battle Creek Kennel Club, which lists this as its 132nd all-breed show.
Friday, Nov. 6: Greater Muskegon Kennel Club.
Saturday, Nov. 7: Kalamazoo Kennel Club.
Sunday, Nov. 8: Grand Rapids Kennel Club.
The clubs say the obedience and rally trials are open to mixed-breed “All-American” dogs enrolled in the AKC’s Canine Partners program, not only purebreds. Each day also includes the AKC National Owner-Handled Series, a competition for puppies 4 to under 6 months and open shows for breeds in the AKC’s Foundation Stock Service, which are not yet fully recognized.
On Saturday afternoon, the Greater Muskegon Kennel Club hosts Meet the Breeds, an event of about an hour in a conformation ring in the main arena where owners show their breeds to the public, the premium list says. Saturday also brings a junior showcase from the Finnish Lapphund Club of America.
Sunday has a Pee Wee class for children ages 5 to under 9, who enter the ring with a dog and a responsible adult, and the cluster’s Best Junior Handler competition among the young handlers who won each day.
A new exhibitor briefing for people curious about showing dogs runs during the shows each day, and spectators are welcome. The premium list asks them to stop at the superintendent’s desk between 8:30 and 10:30 a.m.; the briefing’s time and place are posted in the judging program.
The schedule of breeds and ring times comes out in the judging program from the show superintendent, MB-F, at infodog.com. Breeds are judged at set times, so check it before going to see a particular breed.
Sources:
West Michigan Harvest Cluster, Premium List, Nov. 5–8, 2026 (clubs, dates, hours, admission, parking, catalogs, Meet the Breeds, Pee Wee, junior handler, new exhibitor briefing), https://thepetadvisor.com/assets/premiums/2026/west-michigan-harvest-cluster-2026.pdf
Photo: Maria Tsveshko, “French bulldog on local national club dog show russia moscow 2020.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), cropped and resized, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:French_bulldog_on_local_national_club_dog_show_russia_moscow_2020.jpg
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