Halloween 2025 Was Spook-tacular!

Thank You for Making the 11th & Bark Annual Dog Costume Competition a Howling Success!

What a night! Huge thanks to everyone who joined us at Buddy’s DC for the 11th & Bark Annual Bark Dog Costume Competition. We loved celebrating all things cute, spooky, and downright creative with our community — and of course, with your incredible pups!

This year’s event looked a little different — and even better — thanks to our friends at Buddy’s DC, who hosted us as part of their Pups on the Patio series. Thanks also to our amazing sponsors, Pacifico and Tito’s Handmade Vodka, for helping make the event possible.

A Round of Applause for Our Judges 👏

Our deepest thanks go to our wonderful judges who took on the very serious job of choosing winners among so many adorable contestants:

• Sheila Koophai, representing 11th & Bark

• Anthony Thomas-Davis, ANC Representative

• Our friends at Buddy’s

Their thoughtful (and sometimes impossible!) decisions helped spotlight some truly outstanding costumes.

Meet the Winners! 🏆

• Best Human & Dog Combo

• Scariest Dog Costume

• Cutest Dog Costume

• Most Original Dog Costume

Each winner took home a ribbon, bragging rights, and the admiration of a very enthusiastic crowd.

You can find more Halloween photos here

2025 Annual Meeting

On Tuesday, September 30 at 7 p.m., 11th & Bark held our Annual Meeting via Zoom. We were joined by community members and local leaders to talk about the dog park renovations and the activities 11th & Bark has sponsored over the last year.

We were lucky to have Councilmember Brianne Nadeau, ANC Representative Anthony Thomas-Davis, and Chris Dyer from the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) to provide important updates on the upcoming park renovation. In short, the District is still waiting on permits to begin construction but hopefully they will be granted soon. DPR could not give specific dates, but in the best-case scenario, work could begin in late fall and wrap up by the spring. In addition, 11th & Bark is almost an official Friends of Group.

We’re grateful to our speakers for taking the time to share information and answer questions, and to everyone who logged on to participate in shaping the future of our community space.

Stay tuned for more updates on the renovation, upcoming events, and opportunities to get involved with 11th & Bark!

March 2025 Cleanup

Today, Members of the Board and a few other park goers helped clean up the park and the surrounding streets. Thanks to everyone who helped out.

7th Annual Santa Photo Day

70 dogs—and one cat!—met Santa this year at our 7th annual Santa photo event. Our Board members worked overtime to make the event a success and we are grateful to the folks at Queen’s English, who were kind enough to host us again this year. This event is our big fundraiser and we appreciate everyone who participoated and donated our small, nonprofit organization. We wouldn’t exist without all of your support.

You can view the full gallery of dog photos here.

2024 Halloween Costume Contest

Dozens of dogs competed in this year’s Halloween Dog Costume Contest. Our judges, ANC Commissioner Anthony Thomas-Davis, and 11th & Bark Board Members Rohan Luktuke and Sheila Koohpai, picked the top three winners in four categories: Most Original, Cutest, Best Human and Dog Combo, and Scariest. Thanks to everyone who supported the event and competed in the contest. Although only three dogs received ribbons in each category, they are all winners to us! Check out all the winners and contestants here.

Dog Costume Swap & Pup Cups

Today, 11th & Bark partipated in DC Witchfest, a Halloween maker’s market and community party. At our table on 11th Street, we sponsored a dog costume swap and handed out pup cups. Many happy pups and their parents stopped by for a snack and to get in the Halloween spirit.

2024 Annual Meeting

Thanks to everyone who joined our 2024 Annual Meeting. We were lucky to have ANC Rep. Anthony Davis-Thomas join our meeting to give us information on the status of the park and DPR’s upcoming construction. John Henderson of Green Spaces of DC also joined us to give us a report on administrative matters related to the organization. And 11th & Bark board members reported on our activities over the last year including our clean-ups, events, financial status, and more.

DPR Meeting About Dog Park Construction

Last night the Department of Parks and Recreation held a community meeting at the park to give us an update on the upcoming renovation. Construction is expected to begin in Spring 2025 with an expected end date of Fall 2025.

DPR reported that they will keep the existing fence, repairing as needed, and replacing the mesh to keep little dogs in. DPR does not have money in the budget for lighting, but said the community could consider solar lights if desired or asking the city to add a light to the street lamp posts. The surface will be primarily engineered wood fiber with a strip of astroturf along the 11th street side.

Sign up for our listserv to keep keep informed about the renovation.

The proposed park design. A portion is reserved by WMATA so that they can continue to access the metro.

Another Successful Cleanup

We braved the July heat for today’s summer park cleanup. Thanks to everyone for helping us clean up the park and the surrounding streets.