On Being the Chief Judge at the 22nd Annual Tompkins Square Park Halloween Dog Parade

Hello Luvs.

I had a great time this weekend serving as a judge at the  annual Tompkins Square Halloween Parade, and this year I was promoted to Chief Justice (along with Carol Vincente). This means I got to choose all the ultimate winners.  It was a blast. This was the eighth year I have served as judge, and the costumes never cease to amaze me.

 

Check out some of the photo galleries here:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/chrisritter16/50-best-costumes-at-tompkins-square-dog-halloween

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/22/halloween-dog-parade-in-tompkins-square-park-2012-photos_n_2000361.html?utm_hp_ref=new-york

http://photos.mercurynews.com/2012/10/20/22nd-annual-tompkins-square-halloween-dog-parade-in-new-york-city-draws-hundreds-of-pooches-and-people/#name%20here

http://gothamist.com/2012/10/21/photos_halloween_dog_parade_tompkin.php#photo-18

Each year our operation seems to get more organized as well–it is hard to manage hundreds of dogs in costume, and the thousands of spectators who surround the dog run in Tompkins Square Park, but event coordinator Garrett Rosso does an amazing job. He also shows up each year dressed as a giant poodle. Very impressive–especially given this year’s high temperatures (seventy degrees! Yahoo!)

Our former MC–beloved drag queen Louis, sadly moved to California. S/he was replaced by another drag queen named Roxy.  Roxy happens to be Miss USA in the drag world, and she had the most amazing female body I’ve ever seen. She looked like Jessica Rabbit in a way–with impossible yet somehow realistic looking curves. And….Roxy told me she liked my hair. Nothing like a compliment from a drag queen.

But this day was not about my hair….it was about the dogs.  I am amazed at the limitless creativity of New Yorkers, and the passion we New Yorkers feel about dog rescue and dog adoption. Most of our contestants were rescues.  A few were handicapped, too, and their costumes were created around these handicaps. Very heartwarming.

Another new detail I noticed at this year’s event was how little applause there was coming from the spectators at the beginning of the show. I kept standing up and basically demanding that everyone clap. (yes, I can be obnoxious, especially when dressed in Judge’s robes). That’s when I realized that people weren’t applauding because they were all carrying iPhones and cameras. These devices make it difficult to clap.  I was saddened to realize that applause may be a thing of the past. But on the flip side, we now have access to thousands of amazing dog photos on the web.

 

My esteemed colleagues on the judging panel were

Carol Vinzant from AnimalTourism.com

Lily Golightly from US Weekly

Randall (just Randall) From Paw Nation

Andrew from Buzz Feed

and Kira Sexton, formerly of the AKC.

 

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