Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Photos: All The Best Costumes At The 2021 Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade
By
Scott Lynch
Published Oct 25, 2021
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
View all 85
By
Scott Lynch
Published Oct 25, 2021
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
On Saturday a record number of costumed doggies (and people) flooded the East River Park Amphitheater for the 31st annual Tompkins Square Halloween Parade. The event had been canceled last year due to the pandemic, but oh man were people ready to get back out there and gawk at cute dogs in ridiculous costumes again.
In fact, the procession across the stage was scheduled to last from noon to 3 p.m., but at around 2 p.m. there were already nearly 350 registered "contestants," the line still stretched up to the pedestrian bridge over the FDR, and the organizers stopped accepting doggos in store-bought costumes.
Not that anyone was complaining about the size of the spectacle. As Angela Harden, who came all the way up from North Carolina for the event, put it, "This is the best thing I've ever seen in my whole entire life!"
In addition to usual costumes involving food (tacos, hot dogs), superheroes, animals-that-aren't-dogs, delivery workers, celebrities, and group themes like Scooby Doo and Wizard of Oz, there were at least two Essential Worker get-ups, a few Lokis, lots of Squid Games stuff, several space tourists (a la Jeff Bezos and William Shatner), and two AOCs on the Met Gala red carpet.
Everyone's a winner at Dog Halloween, but there are also a few actual winners of actual prizes announced from the stage. Best In Show went to Ruben Santana of the Bronx, who lost his longtime parade companion doggie this past year but won top honors with his new pet Amoon, who anchored their Essential Workers "float."
The Best Food costume went to Mimi, who came as a Dim Sum Cart; the Best New York outfit went to a pair of puppies dressed as Staten Island Ferries; the Schitt's Creek crew won in the Pop Culture category, Bark Obama (in Kehinde Wiley portrait mode) won the Current Events award; a great dane in a Maleficent get-up was deemed to be the Scariest; and a complicated butterfly diorama called Chi Morphosis took home the new-this-year Best Chihuahua trophy.
Robbed: the Pinhead chihuahua, the Furetto Fast and Furious send up; the French Toast wheaten terrier, the Devo dog, and Trash Panda, decked out in an overflowing garbage can and raccoon tail.
Tagged
halloween
dogs
tompkins square halloween dog parade
costume
Scott Lynch
Photojournalist, food writer, preschool receptionist. Love NYC.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Ever wish you could get paid to walk through a stranger’s house? ‘The Scout’ is for you.
A new film focuses on the strange career of a location scout in New York City.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Sep 26, 2026
There are 100s of places to visit during Open House New York. Here's 5 of our favorites.
See the entire lineup for the weekend when the city opens its doors.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Arts & Entertainment
There are 100s of places to visit during Open House New York. Here's 5 of our favorites.
See the entire lineup for the weekend when the city opens its doors.
By
Hannah Frishberg
A massive MTA archive ended up in a Virginia warehouse. A Brooklyn man brought it home.
By
Hannah Frishberg
How a Harry Styles pop-up in the East Village led to a nearby bookstore owner's arrest
By
Sonia Rao
NYC’s creative workers are increasingly self-employed, report says
By
Hannah Frishberg
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .