Here's a sampling of the costumes from the 27th annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade this afternoon via EVG contributor Stacie Joy... (as for the crowds, which some attendees say were the biggest ever, ABC News put the number at 10,000...)
... and the Best in Show... Pawline — New York Sightseeing...
How nice would it be if the corporate powers that now run this gig made the first hour of viewing strictly for locals, with anyone who wanted to enjoy the pups and their peeps having to show ID to prove they lived in the EV/LES, after which the festivities would open to all. As it is, our neighborhood is rendered temporarily unusable and gets overrun to the point that many locals, myself included, will no longer go near the event because of the sheer insanity of it. But thanks to those who braved the crowds to take these wonderful pictures, they are much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThis "gig" is run by Tompkins Square Park Dog Run and the corporate money affords us to not charge contestants and audience a fee for our fundraising. It's one day out of the year, and it's a free event in a city park, so no one is ever going to be required to show ID. If you want to see the dogs, come by 11:30 next year. There'll be plenty already there to see and the park won't be filled to the rafters yet. The event pays for the upkeep of First Run, so perhaps you can give us the one day of inconvenience. Also it's great for local businesses!
DeleteHurricane Relief dog gets my vote, then the S.I. ferry, pawline, and oscar the grouch
ReplyDeletePark was left a horrible dirty mess, shame on those who littered, respect the park
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have pictures of the crowds on Avenue A? I told a friend about it, but there's no way to convey how insane it was.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your furry friends. ...but please grow up!
ReplyDelete"Park was left a horrible dirty mess, shame on those who littered, respect the park"
ReplyDeleteI assume that must explain today's big belly pic.
If this is the future, the event should be moved to Prospect or Central Park. But wait those snobs don't want all these... these... these... PEOPLE and their, what do you call them? PETS?! God, PETS!
ReplyDeleteI don't welcome a gazillion candy portraits-keep it for the mall infantile regression-I heard that when I was a toddler I liked to put little hats on my dog but once I turned five I found it stupid and became interested in smoking animal abuse-the dogs look unhappy-the one with the wheels and box crushing it's back and organs marketing of the East Village and the dog trainer-beyond anything at Times Square largest concentration of yuppies in the world-I'm scared
ReplyDeleteWhat’s striking about this event, which you can clearly see in all of the pictures, is how few actual children are there, and how many 20-30 something Kidults get all dressed up to go parade around the park with their dogs/surrogate children. It’s as if the families with kids and pets got the memo to stay away or else risk losing ther significant other. In truth, the popularity of the event has turned it into a combination Pet Owner Pickup Parade and Cosplay Convention, and the dogs are just the arm candy, designed to be both chick (and dick) magnets.
ReplyDelete@4:45 What does what you are saying have to do with facts and stupidity. It's a nuisance! The corporate sponsors are piles. The people who run the nun have plenty of money to pay for the chess pool. Most of the businesses in the neighborhood already cater to yuppies so why give them business. The reason the neighborhood is almost extinct is because of ignorance and corporate compromises. I consider this "gig" an assault on the neighborhood. And you are already planning for next year. Will it be like this year. One week before the "gig" you are seeking corporate sponsors. I don't think there should be a next year. I think the whole event is audaciously detrimental and anyone involved is DUMB.
ReplyDeleteI was there at noon, and it was already filled to the rafters as they say. If the organizers are going to make this a big thing with corporate sponsors and all that, it is no longer for the neighborhood, and they need to find a larger space to hold the event. No one is saying to cancel it, but it doesn't make sense to have it in a park like Tompkins, especially with the way the park is designed with all the fencing. It's not suited to an event for thousands of people and their dogs. The whole "it's one day a year" attitude is not cool. It will also make the event a lot more fun if it is held in a more appropriate location. There is so much space on the East River and it is beautiful over there.
ReplyDeleteYou make it sound like you're doing us a favor by not charging a fee to the audience. The park belongs to the public, so what makes you think that you have the right to even consider charging a fee? The park was trashed with trash overflowing every single can. Perhaps some of that sponsorship money should go to clean up the park for the "one day of inconvenience".
ReplyDeleteWho from the dog run is in charge of the event? I would love to get involved in helping to organize it next year. I am there all the time and didn't realize it was organized by locals. More of us should be pitching in.
ReplyDeleteWow, who is rubygirl? You act like you're doing the rest of us a favor using our public park for the day and allowing us to enjoy this event for free. I have a dog and I used to look forward to this event, but I don't like what it has become.
ReplyDelete10,000? Way, way more than that. The weather ensured that.
ReplyDeleteIt's one of my favorite events, love the puppers. Lack of any NYPD officers meant 10th Street was full of people, cars could not get through, it was nuts. Amazing no one was killed. Same with Ave A.
Advice to the organizers:
1. Get a permit and block off 10th during the day, have some space for people to fill in out there.
2. Can you organize a volunteer cleanup effort after the event? Happy to sign up.
3. Keep doing it and don't mind the critics! Very fun event.
People....please note that this is for the Dogs to get dressed up. Your turn comes in a few more weeks at the New York City Halloween Parade.
ReplyDelete@Shawn Chittle You just validated every criticism that people have made about this bloated, out of control event. They need better organization. They need traffic and crowd control. And they need to clean up after the event. This was a shitshow. If they can't do these basic things, they need to find another location. East River Park would be a better place, they can just take over one of the fenced in ballfields, have the dog parade on the river promenade, and then let people spread out. Plus there are no cars. It was so crowded that people were walking in the street on Avenue A and on 10th St and it was dangerous. TSP has all of those fences and it felt unsafe with everyone jammed in there, and the mess they left was unforgivable. They could have paid a few people to help clean up, but they are getting off cheap so they don’t bother. This shows they dont care about the Park, they just want to make their event as big as possible,
ReplyDeleteWhen they started taking on corporate sponsors, the nature of the event changed. That's fine. But you have to be responsible organizers. I think this has gone beyond the abilities of a few people from the dog park to organize. If they want to put on such a big event, they need to hire a pro event planner, and they need to move it to a larger area. I can't believe no one got hit by a car. I also saw people spilling into the streets. A lot of dogs did get stepped on and tripped over and stressed being stuck in overcrowded situations. And who controls the money raised? If it benefits the dog park, I have never heard about how much there is or how it is spent.
ReplyDeleteIt's over.
ReplyDeleteToo many creeps.
Love this event and will do whatever I can to A) Volunteer to help cleanup next year and B) ensure that it happens every year in the same exact place and will do whatever it takes knowing full well that it will piss all of you off.
ReplyDeleteCanine-ophoboes. Corporate-ophobes. Yuppie-ophobes. Fun-ophobes. Y'alls all kinds of phobic.
ReplyDelete@3:01 - wow, I think you miss the point. People do like this event. The problem is the crowds and trash. If you are volunteering to clean up, that's great, but the event still needs to be hosted in a place that can handle so many people. But enjoy pissing off your neighbors.
ReplyDelete@3:01pm gentrifyophile, privilegedphile
ReplyDeletekidultophile,corporatizationphile, narcissistphile,tone-deafophile, disrespectophile, uncorteousphile...
Just like they had to move Wigstock..maybe that solution would work for the corporates and the doggie halloween fest.
ReplyDeleteHow about dropping the corporate sponsor--PetCo Unleashed--and line up local sponsors and make it a community event again? It feels like this event has been stolen from us by corporate interests. It's bad enough we have 7/11 and Starbucks here now. Do we have to give away everything? Seriously, is this about doing something for the community or making a lot of money by pleasing a big corporate sponsor?
ReplyDelete