A New American Town - Bentonville, Arkansas
Tune into Visit Bentonville’s podcast series for a weekly update on all things Bentonville, Arkansas. You’ll hear captivating stories and updates from our city—connecting you with the locals that make this town worth visiting.
A New American Town - Bentonville, Arkansas
WUF World: Pets Bringing People Together
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Loneliness doesn’t always look dramatic. Sometimes it looks like a town full of people who never quite talk to each other. That’s why I loved sitting down with Joe Petrillo and Clint Misamore, co-founders of WUF World, to unpack a surprisingly effective community-building tool: pets. They call animals “Chief Icebreaking Officers,” and once you hear their stories, it’s hard to unsee how a simple “Do you have any pets?” can flip a stranger moment into a real connection.
We trace WUF World’s origin to the pandemic era and the growing concern around isolation, then widen the lens to what happens when you design gatherings around the human animal bond. Joe and Clint explain why pets fit naturally with culture and storytelling, especially film, and how their work aligns with Bentonville Film Festival’s focus on stories that connect us all. We also get practical about the modern family and the workplace: even if most companies can’t allow pets on site, every employer can build pet supportive culture, policies, and benefits that recognize how people actually live.
Then we get into the fun part: what to expect at the Momentary during Bentonville Film Festival. Think pet friendly screenings, food and drinks, local and national brand activations, and Best Friends on site with adoptable animals. They also share fresh updates like an ELF Beauty glam studio for you and your pet, plus a Saturday community hike with AllTrails. If you love Bentonville, love film, or just want an easy way to meet one new friend, this is your entry point.
Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with a fellow pet lover, and leave a quick review so more people can find the show. What’s one way a pet has helped you feel at home somewhere new?
A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.
You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.
Welcome And What Wolf World Is
SPEAKER_01Welcome to a new American Town. I am Graham Cobb, your host, and I am thrilled to welcome in conversation today Joe Petrillo and Clint Misamore with Wolf World. Welcome, guys. Thank you, Graham.
SPEAKER_00Great to be with you.
SPEAKER_01Wolf World is coming to Bentonville Film Festival this year with uh with an invitation-only film festival on Friday and a public event on the momentary grounds, a lot of excitement and energy around the event. Um but for those hearing about Wolf World for the first time, give us the quick version. What is it? What are you all about?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we uh Joe and I are co-founders of of Wolf World. What WolfGram stands for with you forever. And our whole reason for being is those those who have pets or have had pets or or what we even call pet adjacent, meaning like pet aunts, pet uncles, pet grandparents, pet neighbors, pet roommates, you know, they've witnessed firsthand just the magic and the power of the human-animal bond. And so, you know, that sparks joy, it sparks connection, it brings community together. And so, you know, woof exists to bring that magic to as many people and as many places as possible. I love that. Um, we do that may maybe it's some more context, you know, we we do that on a community level. So we we've hosted over the years really large events, you know, where we think about pets as a horizontal, meaning, you know, it goes well with music, it goes well with fashion, it goes well with film, you know, i.e. the pet film festival. So we've done events like Art Doggle Grand, that was Art Basel for dogs. We did Stage Pooch, which was Stage Coach for Dogs. We've had collectively, you know, over 25,000 people physically showing up with their pets to our activations. And what we unfolded from that was the power of bringing that magic to corporate America. And so one of the big lanes for us now is helping companies become more pet supportive. And one of the things we say is it's not about physically having pets on site to be pet supportive. Only about 7% of companies can do that. But 100% of companies can actually implement pet supportive uh culture, pet supportive policies, and pet supportive benefits to really recognize the makeup of the modern family. So that's another line of focus for us. We've been having a tremendous amount of success working with large enterprise clients and organizations that are kind of culturally forward and more progressive. But but yeah, Joe, feel free to chime in.
SPEAKER_02It's a town that Clinton and I just absolutely love, and we just think there's something really special going on, and it's already really an incredible pet-loving community.
SPEAKER_01It really is, Joe. I'm glad it feels very Bentonville because I can tell you that like a a um a birthday for your eight-year-old boxer with like formal attire at a cafe is that's pretty much a regular Saturday in Bentonville, Arkansas. How did Wolf World start? Like, what was the moment? Was there a gap that you identified? Was there a connection beyond just the kind of intrinsic workforce value? Was there a moment that brought you to this realization of here's a gap that we can fill?
Pandemic Loneliness And The Big Idea
SPEAKER_01It's an important one. This is how we do it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I would say, Graham, it's such a good question. Where I think this really came into focus was around the pandemic. You know, it doesn't seem that long ago when we were all locked in our homes and feeling isolated and alone. And at the same time, you know, rise in social media was was also happening. And so we had, Joe and I had an encounter with the former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murphy, and he had just issued the advisory that said loneliness and isolation were at epidemic level proportions. And so we thought, you know, what better way than get people active, engaged in the community, engaged with each other than through this simple conversation around pets. You know, it's one of the great unifying conversations. Um, about 70% of people have pets, and you know, the a good portion of the other 30% like pets and for whatever reason may not have one currently. So that's really what I think prompted this. Once some of the pandemic um, you know, in real life restrictions were lifted, you know, we just started bringing people together to local coffee shops or, you know, outdoor green spaces and simply said, you know, your pets are welcome. And the rest is magic. We we call the pets the CIO's gram, the chief icebreaking officers, and we've seen that happen time and time again.
SPEAKER_01Boy, that's that's some powerful stuff. I love that you took a bit of a crisis moment and turned it into something that could add value to people's lives in perpetuity, if you will, for long-term value. And I think as you see a redefinition of live, work, a redefinition of traditional family, a redefinition of just kind of life in general, thinking about pets and how they relate to the family unit, maybe thinking about it in a different way, is something we all do. Kudos to y'all for embracing it and kind of giving uh some structure to
Why Pets Fit Film And Community
SPEAKER_01it. What is it about pets and community? You mentioned that, that you know, the the chief icebreaker, pets, community, and storytelling. Why does this work for a film festival?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, well, we're we're so blessed. Uh, you all have one of the greatest film festivals that there is. It's going into year 12, and Gina Davis' mission this year is celebrating the stories that connect us all. And when we saw that prompt, our mission within that is celebrating the animal stories that connect us all. And it's something that is, and and we really do love the chief icebreaker metaphor, because anywhere you go, you can ask people, do you have any pets? And knowing that 70% of people do, or we always get a chuckle when we say, uh, or are you pet adjacent? You may not have a pet now, but you may be a pet grandparent. It's just fun because 99% of people can participate in a conversation that really is it's it's a lot deeper conversation when people really open up about their connection in love with animals. So it's a very kind of never-ending source of of really good conversation.
SPEAKER_01You know, one of the things that works really well in Bentonville is an understanding of product, right? And that connection to people's lives. And I and I don't mean it in a in a salesy way, but we are all looking to bring things into our lives that that improve our lives, help us live better. How does how does what you're doing with Wolf World tie into that? Is there a piece there?
SPEAKER_02Yes. Well, I I love and thank you for bringing that in the space because it's it's it's part of the magic that's in the air. And it's also something that when you set foot in Bentonville and you're on the town square and you see the Walmart Museum, not that long ago, there was one man that had a big dream that's still living today. And so I love that you brought this notion of product in the space because these are the things that you can provide a service or an item that actually makes our lives better so that we can really enjoy life. That's really great. So thank you for putting that in. And and our product truly is like how do we connect more people in an age where it's becoming um increasingly more difficult to do that through all the technology that's coming our way. And that's something I think, Graham, we're just at the very beginning stages, and we also admit that it takes an entire community, meaning in your community, it's the citizens of Bentonville, it's all the people that support the animals of Bentonville. So that's the best friends uh Northwest Resource Center that we're part of. It's all the people that service. Um, even Clinton has forged a great relationship with the pet hospitality company that actually has like a little bus that comes so that Walmart Associates can have their pets be taken care of while they're working during the day. So it is something that uh we believe commerce and content and community can all live together with one purpose.
SPEAKER_01I tell you what, because Bentonville, you can go to best friends and like check out a cat for co-working, right? I mean, pretty unbelievable stuff. But it's it's proof that like these are additive assets in our lives.
What To Expect At The Momentary
SPEAKER_01We got the invite only piece, but then this public activation Friday night at the momentary. What do we expect? What are we gonna see when we get to the momentary on Friday night?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so um, Graham, the the actual, the, the actual daytime, that invite only, you know, it will be open to the public, but it's more of a first come, first serve. Oh, okay. Wonderful. Yes, you know, because it that'll be at the momentary in the roadhouse, um, and space is limited there. So definitely want to encourage people to sign up. We'll be having a um a sign up, you know, scan to register on the Pet Filmfest website. That's just petfilmfest.com. And then to your question around the afternoon, it's just going to be magical. So it's uh, you know, it's it's on the on the grounds out there at the momentary. We've got a uh double feature screening, pet friendly. So bring your pet, watch a movie. I mean, what's better than that? And then in addition to that, obviously, there's food, there's drink that will be provided, and then we we have the that Quanzett hut, which is right outside, and we're going to be having some incredible brand activations. And this will be a mixture of you know, national pet products and services mixed with a lot of the local pet product and service providers. And so people will be able to bring their pet with Elf Beauty and we'll be able to bring their pet and get a photo taken with their pet, um, which will be really cool. Best friends will have adoptable animals on site. So if people want to come and potentially find a new home for rescue animals or provide a new home, that will be provided. So just a really good, wholesome community experience, uh family friendly uh for both the two-legged children and the and the four-legged fur children.
SPEAKER_01Look, I am so excited to have been wrong about that invite only thing. But uh we're thrilled. I told Joe that my wife Lisa, we don't ask for a lot, and she found out about this and was adamant that we attend. Shout out to Sugar Cobb, our floof of a dog, and our cat Chloe, that has been with us in probably five houses, maybe a house fire and two cities. So I don't know where we'd be without these animals. Appreciate you shining a light on the importance of that. So Wolf World at the momentary Friday, June 19th, for pet lovers, film lovers, families. All of the above? Does that sound right? It sure does. If someone's listened to this, the way that I am listening to my and my wife will be listening to it, and again, shout out Sugar and Chloe will be listening to this, and they say, Hey, that sounds fun. What's the best way for folks to jump in and get involved?
SPEAKER_00I think the the best way would be register to attend. So that will be um on the petfilmfest.com website. We'll be providing updates to those who have registered in the run-up to June 19th. And then for the afternoon experience, no need to register, Graham. So just show up at four o'clock, you know, and then the community and whoever wants to join is welcome to stay with us uh throughout the experience, which should go until probably about 9 p.m.
SPEAKER_01Well, this sounds like a fun entry point into Bentonville Film Festival.
How To Join Plus New Add Ons
SPEAKER_01When people leave that Friday evening, what do you hope they're talking about? What do you think you're gonna hear them talking about as they find their way back home Friday night?
SPEAKER_02I think the thing that we're most excited about is not only are they talking about what a great time they that they have, but they met a new friend. Like it if everyone could meet one new friend and connect over this love that just brings out so much joy in the world, that that's what it really excites us most. And we are connectors at heart. That's how Clint and I just align on so many things that we see. We're both from the Midwest, and there's something about getting people from all over the country to get to the center of the country. I think I I don't know if you guys are exact center, but you're not that far off. So there's something very symbolic during our 250th celebration of America that we still connect over things that we all care deeply about, which is family, and pets are family. Very few people would disagree. So for us, it's really leaning into Gina's vision of celebrating the stories that connect us all.
SPEAKER_01I love that so much. We're really excited. Is there anything we should share with our listeners that we haven't touched on so far?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think a couple other things that are kind of more breaking news just for your listeners, Graham, that I think everyone will be excited about. So I love it. One of our core partners of this is Elf Beauty. You might be familiar with that brand, Eyes, Lips, and Face. They're gonna be having a glam studio. So anyone that comes out, we're gonna be doing get glammed up for you and your pet and get a photo taken. So that'll be on Friday for the folks coming out for the community experience. And then on Saturday, we've just added some of some very fun new programming that we're excited to announce with All Trails, which is an outdoor hiking app. And we're gonna be leading a community, um, a community hike free for the public to join us. So we'll be having uh more details that we'll be sharing throughout the week of June 15th during the Bentonville Film Festival. Come back to our website, we'll be updating that with those details soon, and we'll be promoting throughout town. So we'd love your listeners who have pets and obviously who love the outdoors and want to meet a new friend to Joe's point. Join us on Saturday morning and we'll we'll be uh coming back to you with more details soon.
SPEAKER_01I love it. Your pet's not going to judge you no matter how you look, but with a little glow up from elf, doesn't hurt, right? Totally. They'll love you either way. Well said. Well, Clint and Joe, thank you so much for joining us. Looking forward to this. I know that everybody at the Bentonville Film Festival will love Pet Film Festival. We appreciate Wolf World, and we look forward to seeing you guys in a few weeks.
SPEAKER_00We'll see you soon. Awesome. Thanks for having us, Graham. Great to be with you.
Closing And Where To Learn More
SPEAKER_01Whether you are a visitor or you call Bentonville home, visit Bittenville is here to keep you connected to the people, the places, and the experiences in our new American town. Check the show notes for links to our website, social channels, and our newsletter.