BRUNSWICK

In fairy tales, the stroke of midnight can mark the end of a magical spell, but for those with furry tails, 12 o’clock could signal that the dream of finding a permanent home is about to come true. At least, that could be the case for some 100 animals at the Coastal Humane Society’s “Midnight Madness” adoption event in Brunswick.

Participants and prospective adoptees will line up at the shelter’s two Brunswick locations at 8 p.m. Saturday, and adoptions will kick off exactly at midnight. Adoptions will be processed through 4 a.m.

Between June 1-Aug. 31, Coastal Humane Society will attempt to find homes for 822 dogs and cats — double the number of animals CHS adopted out last summer — as part of its “Rescue 822” campaign to make CHS eligible to win $10,000 to $100,000 in grant money from the ASPCA Rachel Ray Challenge.

Fifty shelters across the country compete to break their own previous records for lives saved. Between June and August, each com- peting shelter must save more dogs, cats, puppies and kittens than they did during the same three months in 2013. This year is the final year the challenge will run.

The midnight adoptions at CHS will coincide with the very second the ASPCA challenge officially begins. This weekend, cat adoptions will take place at the society’s administrative offices at 190 Pleasant St.; dog adoptions will take place at the shelter at 30 Range Road.

Both locations will reopen for extended hours Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For those waiting in line for midnight, there will be hula hoop demonstrations, face painting, food trucks and kid-friendly movies, according to Jane Siviski, CHS’s marketing and social media coordinator.

The society’s goal will be 100 adoptions this weekend. If successful, it will be the most animals adopted from the shelter since Catapalooza last fall, in which the shelter placed 106 cats rescued from a hoarding environment, said Siviski.

“We’re going to have boatloads of kittens and puppies,” Siviski said. “Hopefully people will line up to have that perfect pet.”

Adopting an animal from Coastal Humane Society was the right choice for the Grimes family of Durham. Raven, the Australian cattle dog, became their newest family member only a few weeks ago, according to Judd Grimes.

“She’s fit right in — perfectly,” Grimes said regarding Raven, who was brought from Georgia by CHS.

“It’s just nice to give these dogs a second chance,” Grimes said.

This weekend, about 40 adult cats will be available for adoption and 40-50 kittens. About 30 puppies and 24 adult dogs are also available.

The shelter recently got an influx of cats and kittens from Indiana, courtesy of the CanINE Express Transport Project, which transports shelter dogs from areas of that state with overcrowding and high euthanasia rates to other shelters in the northeast. A new batch of dogs and puppies come courtesy of the society’s recently purchased transport van, which picked up the animals from shelters in Georgia and Alabama.

This weekend’s event is one of several lined up in advance of the challenge. Future themed-events include “Kitten Impossible” and “I Like Big Mutts And I Cannot Lie,” cumulating with the “Empty Our Shelter” event in August.

Visit challenge.coastalhumanesociety.org for more information.

jswinconeck@timesrecord.com