An animal shelter in Dearborn plans to change the name of its third annual fundraiser after an attorney for the California music festival Coachella reached out about the branding.
Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit has put on an event called “Pawchella” since 2024 and was unaware of of the trademark associated with the term “chella” until receiving the email, President and CEO Cory Keller said.
“We would never intentionally violate a trademark,” Keller said.
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is held annually in the Coachella Valley of the Colorado Desert in Indio, California. Artists including Justin Bieber and Sabrina Carpenter headlined the festival in April.
Pawchella in Dearborn is not the first event to be by the music festival that it can’t use “chella” in its name. It’s also been a no-no for festivals in Connecticut and Minnesota, with news outlets reporting local festivals being sent cease and desist letters.
Though the name of the animal shelter’s fundraiser with live music, food, drinks, vendors and family activities will change, the purpose behind the event will not, Keller said.
“This event has always been about bringing animals and the community together,” Keller said. “That is still the vision for this event. We hope people will still come out and support us so that we can continue to make a difference in the community we serve and in the lives of the animals we care for.”
The event is planned for Saturday, June 13, at the MaryAnn Wright Animal Adoption and Education Center in Dearborn from noon to 8 p.m. Event attendance is $5 per person, with kids 12 and under free. T-shirts and raffle tickets for the event are also available online. Keller said a new name for the event will be decided in the next few days. More information can be found at www.metrodetroitanimals.org.
Media contacts for Coachella and Goldenvoice, the company that owns the music festival, did not immediately respond to Free Press request for comment.
Contact Natalie Davies at ndavies@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Coachella asks metro Detroit animal shelter to not use ‘Pawchella’
Reporting by Natalie Davies, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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