Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade Returns for 36th Edition With 500 Pups

A Shih Tzu costumed as New York Knicks captain Jalen Brunson won first prize at the 36th Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade, held on Saturday, October 17 in New York despite cold and windy conditions. Roughly 500 dogs and their owners marched from East 13th Street and Avenue B to Tompkins Square Park in the East Village, where spectators climbed lampposts and CitiBike seats behind barricades, and some residents watched from fire escapes. Competing entries included a pug emerging from a cheese wheel on a charcuterie board, a Bad Bunny-themed float, a Yayoi Kusama pumpkin, a cyclosporiasis parasite referencing the summer lettuce outbreak, and a Pomeranian group dressed in Knicks gear. "Pup Leo" rode in a Popemobile. Organizers emphasized shelter adoptions, bringing 250 dogs seeking homes to the event. This was the second parade since longtime organizer Joseph Borduin stepped down in 2024; the nonprofit New York Dog Parade arranged the event, sponsored by pet food brand Kismet, co-founded by John Legend and Chrissy Teigen.