Last Thursday, organizers canceled the event "for the foreseeable future." According to an Instagram post: "Despite our best efforts to keep the parade going, with ongoing building work in both our local parks [East River and Tompkins] there was just no way to hold the parade this year."
Organizer Joseph Borduin told EVG and other outlets that there was too much bureaucracy involved with city agencies and local elected officials for the necessary permits and insurance costs — upwards of $50,000. The parade was to take place along the Open Street of Avenue B.
Enter Get Joy, a Connecticut-based dog wellness company, who, according to a press release, jumped in as the exclusive title partner to work with the Friends of the First Run, the official 501(c)(3) fundraising organization for the Tompkins Square Dog Run, to help fund and orchestrate this year's parade.
"This parade is all about dogs finding joy by spending time with their families and other dogs in their community," Get Joy founder and CEO Tom Arrix said in a statement.
"I couldn’t have imagined this in my wildest dreams. First, the Mayor offers his support, and then Get Joy reaches out to pay for everything all within the hour," Borduin told EVG's Stacie Joy last night. "I was done with Halloween and ready [to] think about Thanksgiving, but this time, the entire country spoke out and said that this show must go on, and thanks to everyone's support, it will!"
The parade is scheduled for Oct. 21 from 1-3 p.m. Stay tuned for more details on this 33rd edition.
Updated: Per City Councilmember Carlina Rivera's office:
The parade will take place on Avenue B from Sixth Street to 14th Street, with staging on Seventh Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. Additionally, a stage will be set up in Tompkins Square Park.
The event was nearly canceled in 2018 as well, though a deal was eventually worked out.
Yay!
ReplyDeleteThis is yet another scrappy homemade event which became yet another corporate extravaganza filled with products, services and convention style backing. Your dog will make you a target for one sales pitch after the other. Please avoid!
ReplyDeleteYou know what Noble, I wasn't going to but your comment so makes me want to participate. Thanks for the motivation!
ReplyDeleteYes, let's complain about a corporation stepping in to allow an event happen that brings significant joy to large numbers of New Yorkers and brings revenue to the neighborhood. What a curmudgeon!
ReplyDeleteGood lord, the cynicism @9:00. Just enjoy some dogs!
ReplyDeleteTwo things can be true at the same time.
ReplyDelete* It's good that doggie Halloween was saved; the event will surely be great.
* This has been corporatized; what used to be a scrappy canine gala-in-the-park is now corporate-sponsored, insured, a platform for marketing.
Love the flyer design
ReplyDeleteHey, some good news for a change! Hooray! And to the grinch whining about corporate sponsorship, you've got to live in the world you've got and try to make the best of the circumstances. If you're not already doing so, maybe you should be spending your free time for the next year to decouple the parade from its corporate ties instead of simply grousing from the sidelines as a non-contributing zero.
ReplyDelete@9:00AM
ReplyDeleteDo you use the dog run? you know the halloween dog parade raise money for the dog park.
I’m a neighbor who doesn’t have a dog yet for years have enjoyed the joy of dogs and creativity of their humans at the Tompkins Square Park Halloween Dog Parade. Was sad to hear it had been cancelled and more than pleased to hear it’s back on. Yay!
ReplyDeleteA lot of things could stay small and scrappy (I’m thinking of wigstock and the mermaid parade, even Burning Man) before the modern Instagram fueled internet. Now you might get one or two times then forget it if it’s any good.
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful news! I never would have imagined this would happen. It is such a fun tradition to keep going.
ReplyDeleteimagine spending $50,000 to help homeless people or hungry children or drug addicts instead of playing doggy dress up
ReplyDeleteRegarding 2:10pm
DeleteAccording NYC.gov “ The Fiscal 2023 Preliminary Budget for the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) totals $2.2 billion, which represents 2.2 percent of the New York City's overall budget of $98.5 billion.” I don’t think the few grand this parade raises for the maintenance of the the Tompkins Square dog park is going to help
The two do not have to be mutually exclusive 2:10pm. Both can happen at the same time. While there are troubles and problems that need to be addressed it doesn't mean we can't enjoy our lives when and how we can. Such a myopic point of view.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how much 2:10 pm actually donates personally to anti-poverty causes, or are they only a convenient stick to beat the shocking self-indulgence of a once-a-year dog party with?
ReplyDeleteGeez, people. Yes, I'd prefer small and scrappy, but it's hard to do nowadays. I also prefer having one to not!
@1:39 PM Wigstock outgrew Tompkins Square before the Insta age. Times change and events change with them. (trigger alert) I personally wish Times Square New Years Eve was still a nearly out of control mob scene but that's long gone.
ReplyDeleteHey the absolute first Santa Con looked like fun as the college kid Santas wandered around.
@Neighbor
ReplyDeleteDo you really want a corporate sponsor or presence in your / our public parks? Am I the only person who see's the few open spaces we the citizens of this city have which are not handed over to companies to "SELL" us products and services?
Yes I am cynical, cynical as fuck because I see the same old pattern time and time again, this one is a cute dog parade which is now a huge tourist attraction, neighborhoods spaces are up for rent to any lame corporation looking for new customers.
It will officially transform into an "event" a "thing" - the NYT (which no longer reports actual NYC news) has just posted a long article. No doubt there will now be official televised "event" coverage.
ReplyDeleteBe careful what you wish for...
Even 15 years ago, it was possible to see the Macy's balloons being blown up in the afternoon - mostly locals, not super-crowded.
Those days are gone.....
The Dog Parade is just another way to market the EV by the real estate industry. This does nothing except bring more tourists from all over the city and country and help further the reputation that we are just a place for people to come and party for the day or night. Of course Neighbor would support it because it's all about marketing the EV.
ReplyDeleteWow. Wow, y’all. Can we appreciate a neat event WITH DOGS and just take a second to enjoy this special piece of the neighborhood and season? Jesus Christ the comments here sometimes.
ReplyDeleteSo the whole weird thing about this is, as far as I know (please let me know if incorrect) this event is an annual fundraising event. The organization’s profits are used for a 100% public amenity, the Tompkins square dog run. (I don’t have a dog but I do read the signs that say the dog run is maintained by the organization that without it we wouldn’t have a nice dog run?) So basically by the city charging $$$ for permits, they are taking a piece of the funds that would otherwise be used for the dog run. Huh? And the public space it normally is held in will be closed. Again, Huh?
ReplyDeleteThis isn’t some outside random
Group wanting to throw a party, for which they should pay for the privilege to host it in our streets. It’s meant to fund the dog run.
Yes, the dog parade is noted for its ragers. Huh?
ReplyDelete@8:01 PM
ReplyDeleteThe EV doesn't need to be marketed. Known all over the world and top dollar rent already. That funky post drug-street neighborhood has been gone a long time. Since when would be an interesting thread.
Get Joy gets to market dog wellness, so get out your credit cards, and there sure will be a lot of dogs.
This was so cute in the beginning but hard not to feel cynical as it has morphed into a tourism event.
ReplyDeleteFolks vacationing, flying in.
Maybe Taylor Swift will show up too.
Phew. Some commenters could use some more dog love in their lives.
ReplyDelete10:51, Taylor Swift is a cat lady so the East Village is probably safe for now
ReplyDeleteAs a long-time dog run visitor, I enjoyed this event when it was a small, neighborhood thing. But it has turned into this massively overcrowded event that is stressful for the dogs who are surrounded by people and poked at. Some of the costumes are inventive but are not comfortable for the pooches. I wouldn't put my dog through this, but if you are going, please bring food and water for your dog and think about limiting your time at the event.
ReplyDeleteI love dogs, the dogs don't like it, looking at the disgusting owners trying to get attention for themselves, how obnoxious. And yes it jut swarms the neighborhood with obnoxious brunchy people all day. Bye!
ReplyDeleteWhat concerns me as a former organizer of this event are the rising costs & liabilities that this event is placing on volunteers. The cost of replenishing the sand in the dog run has risen from $8-10K before the pandemic to $55K today. Fees and insurance for the Halloween Dog Parade have eaten up all the donations that this fundraiser used to generate.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, volunteers are being put under tremendous liability if anything goes wrong. They should be commended for their courage in moving forward and trying to keep this tradition alive — however, this is no way to fund a park. In fact, the parade is no longer able to fund the dog park and we are quickly tapping out of reserve funds which are kept at City Parks Foundation.
1:06 pm: I read in one of the articles about the cancellation/uncancellation that the current organizer is looking to find a way to make the event much less reliant on one person's involvement. Sounds like that would be a good idea.
ReplyDeleteLamentable trajectory for a modest, community cultural event, invented by LES residents to serve as a fun way to support the local dog run. Organizers should have never gotten involved with the city past the permit procedure. Should have kept it loosely organized and local. Now look. Bet you soon it will be the doggie version of Drag Race. It is now a ‘property’ parasited by all sorts of outside interests to serve as a revenue stream generator. It is not the Halloween Dog Parade. It is the marketing hook bonanza. And think of the hidden costs to taxpayers for things like the clean-up that will be necessary afterwards, the police overtime, etc. As Anonymous (1:06PM) said, the fees and insurance now consume all the money intended to support the dog run, so no one can pretend the event fulfills its original, intended purpose. It now just benefits outside interests and any business that is on the periphery. Great for them. Detrimental to the support of the dog run. If there was a way to survey the dogs for how they see this, I bet none would advocate for a basically meaningless, bloated marketing event fronted as a dog parade. Not to mention the exponentially increased volume of dog excrement generated. Neighbors, stay up wind.
ReplyDeleteMaybe all of the participants should be dressed in Santa/Mrs. Santa/Elf costumes, and allowed to howl and pee wherever they choose. Oh, that's still 2 months away.
ReplyDeleteOMG so much over thinking! Hate the marketing, hate the tourists, the dogs are miserable, what about the homeless? Stay home!
ReplyDeleteLove the dogs and the fun no matter how they got there? Come and have a great day! For free!
The skinny crazy lady who used to plant herself on Astor Place and scream " ANIMAL RIGHTS!!.....ANIMAL RIGHTS!!" would be apoplectic if see saw what was going down with all this dog stuff.
ReplyDeleteThe EVGrumps are out in full force, like they are every time this event is announced! Anyone who has attended the event knows it’s nothing but pure joy for all involved. The dogs love it (wagging tails don’t lie), the people love it and it raises funds for the dog run. Everyone wins, except the Grumps of course!
ReplyDeleteWhining about a corporation stepping up and doing good to rescue this event is just silly. This isn’t corporate greed, it’s corporate good, huge difference!