Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Top pic: At the start of the parade
The 36th annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade brought another assortment of costumed canines and their humans to the East Village today.
The parade, which drew another large crowd, started at 13th Street and headed south on Avenue B to Seventh Street. (The finalists were judged on a runway in the park.)
There were fewer political costumes than in previous years, though John Legend made one notable appearance, dressed as former 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick, and attended with his wife, Chrissy Teigen. (Below.) The couple's pet food brand, Kismet, helped sponsor this year's event.
The costume competition featured a few familiar neighborhood faces among the judges, including Carol Krakowski, owner of Boris & Horton, and Assembly Member Keith Powers.
And Dan Schachner, familiar to many as the Puppy Bowl referee, returned as emcee.
Here's a look at some of the day's costumes and scenes along the parade route...
Also today, someone launched a new Instagram account — @tompkinssquaredogrun — that questions why the dog parade no longer supports the Tompkins Square Dog Run and posts archival photos from when the event was "for locals by locals."
18 comments:
Lovwd it local, but cant complain. Always a good time in a stressful part of the year.
Looks more and more like less of a costumed dog parade than a costumed people with dogs parade.
Chrissy Teigen on Ave B is worse than a Sephora on 3rd Ave.
Yup.
Check. That's what I noticed this year. I'm all for the ensemble but lead with the dog. Otherwise it's kinda just like parents with a baby.
I remember when the Halloween parade was just a bunch of us holding the amazing puppets that Ralph Lee created and marching around the neighborhood - if memory serves, from Westbeth to Washington Sq park? And- when Wigstock took over Tompkins Square park originally- Things change. I guess we can thank the internet and the march of capitalism for the end of "keeping things weird" and local- but still - who doesn't love dogs looking ridiculous? Can't bitch too much about that.
Honestly- it’s lame now. I do like to be on the outskirts and see the dogs leaving the parade. Unfortunately I’ve become a curmudgeon.
Looks fun. Glad everyone enjoyed themselves. Awesome photos! It does remind me though of when I moved into Alphabet City in 2008. The Tompkins Halloween Dog Parade was an intimate, low key affair for just our fellow neighbors. I even brought my cat out to this one year. There was no media presence or enormous crowds or barricades for blocks. Perhaps it is because I am now a middle aged man who continues to remain in this community, but I long for those nostalgic days when it brought the community together. Now it has become a cultural sensation with people travelling from all over the northeast to attend. I often wish certain things could stay how they were. Oh well. Happy Halloween!
Its this sweeping wave of corporate conservatism that dominates this country and NYC. Boris and Horton need to tske a hike. This is so unfair to the neighborhood. DOT approved the street permits under the seasonal Trick or Streets Program which authorized the full street closure along Avenue B. The Parks Department approved the park permit for the finalists for the high stakes costume contest winners on a runway in the park. So this year not only did they take over the park but also multiple streets. Contact Mamdani.
This is a different parade
Zoltar Speaks Again!
Does anyone know if any of the money raised actually went to support the Tompkins Square Park Dogrun? The woman organizing this year and last year is new. She is not the person that organized for 34 previous years where money was raised to improve and repair things in the Dogrun. It would be great if we could investigate if the Dog Run benefited in anyway from this year‘s Halloween dog parade.
Are any of the monies that were raised going to support the upkeep of Tompkins Square, Dogrun?
For all those complaining that the parade is not supporting the Tompkins Square Dog Run - perhaps you can volunteer to organize an event to fundraise for that? For example - an Easter costume contest + volunteer cleanup after the winter. Rather than using our keyboards and typing complaints.
Also - if enough folks give ideas for a themed fundraiser (and agree to donate their time + money, like $50+, I will take the lead to try to organize something community-based)
We dont want this stupid dog parade. Why do people continue to shove it down our throats.
Great photos! This reminds me of when I moved to the neighborhood -- community events like this are what make a place feel like home. Love seeing all the creative costumes, the dogs clearly enjoyed it too!
There's a bit of a lack of help for humanitarianism in the neighborhood and beyond. Its a crisis. We dont need funding for events for two year olds.
Its like we will do what we want to do. We can get funding and pay to crash your neighborhood and overthrow you.
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