📅 Sunday, October 6th
⏰ 11 am – 2 pm
📍 Volunteer Park route: “We’ll parade from the stage located on the lawn in front of the conservatory, down the concourse around the Water Tower and back to the stage.”
🎟 Free
Taking Fido in a vampire costume on a walk through your neighborhood sounds fun, but why not give him a platform to really strut his stuff?
Enter the annual Halloween Pet Parade. Capitol Hill’s Volunteer Park Trust has organized an afternoon for pets and pet-parents to don their best Halloween attire to ring in the ghoulish season. From 11 am to 2 pm on Sunday, October 6th, there’ll be food trucks and live music appropriate for the entire family. You can enter your pet into a costume competition with a pet-related gift basket prize offered in these categories: Best Pet/Owner Combo, Most Creative, Spookiest Pet, and Best Personality.
If you’re looking for inspiration, some pet-parent costumes could include Elle Woods and Bruiser, a witch and her familiar, Anakin and Princess Leia, or a groomsman (provided you have a llama).
The pet parade—led by the 8-Bit Brass Band and free to enter—will start at the lawn in front of the Volunteer Park Conservatory, head down the street, loop around the water tower, and end back near the conservatory. During the entire celebration, cars will only be permitted to enter at the 15th Ave entrance and exit at 12th Ave, so plan to get there ahead of time.
Here’s the day’s schedule:
11 am — Gather at the stage for the Pet Parade!
11 am to 12:30 pm — Register Your Pet for the Costume Competition at the Stage Area
12:30 to 1:30 pm — Costume Competition on the Stage
• Each winner receives a pet-related gift basket!
• Prizes offered in 5 categories:
○ Best Pet/Owner Combo
○ Most Creative
○ Spookiest Pet
○ Best Personality
1:45 pm — Costume Competition Winners announced
