Halloween Has Gone to the Dogs!

The Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade has been a much-loved event in the East Village since the 1990s.  This year’s parade was initially canceled, but then moved to the East River Park Amphitheater. 

The event is still put on by a small group of volunteers from the Tompkins Square Park Dog Run, but organizers cited the Parks Department’s requirement of a large insurance and liability policy (estimated 18,000 attendees would cost between $10,000 and $15,000) as the reason for initially shutting down this year’s parade.

The Tompkins Square Park Dog Run was the city’s first dog run and opened in 1990 as part of the park’s renovation.  Dog owners fought hard to make the run a reality by raising money and organizing volunteers, and today even those who have no love for dogs say the run was instrumental in bringing the park back to its glory days.

Though saddened that Tompkins was unable to host this year’s parade, we are glad to hear that it still went on and hope it will return to its East Village home next year.  In the meantime, check out some pictures from this year and other parades!