2nd Annual Halloween Pet Parade Draws Costumed Dogs to LIC Park

TF Cornerstone and JoJo and Co. Pet Club hosted their second annual Halloween Pet Parade at Malt Drive Park in Long Island City on Saturday, Oct. 24. The event featured a march through the park where community members walked alongside their dogs in holiday costumes.

Pets also participated in a costume competition. A panel of judges selected the finalists from the entries. The judging group included representatives from Heart of Chelsea Veterinary Group, Dawn DeVito of Culture Lab LIC, and Pawfect Guest Rescue. The final ranking of the top three winners was determined by crowd applause.

The gathering included live music performed by DJ Elijah Manuel. Maman provided complimentary food and drinks for attendees. Velvet Turtle Events operated a photo booth where pet owners could take pictures with their animals to commemorate the day.

Carmen Akella, the founder of the Halloween Pet Parade, spoke to the crowd about the purpose of the event. "[The Halloween Pet Parade] brings people together," Akella said. "I think it’s great for community building, building relationships, building connection, human connection and of course animals are really good at bringing people together always."

Akella added that the goal was to celebrate the bond between owners and their dogs. "The whole idea was always to just celebrate the relationship, the union with our dogs, the specialness of that, and to come out and celebrate a fun holiday, bring people out, bring other small businesses together, also shelters, for example, or rescue organizations like the one we have here today," she said.