The Annual Halloween Dog Park Dog Costume Show is Back in Person and Virtual!  

It’s that time of year again for the Annual Halloween Dog Costume Contest. This longstanding community tradition will take place at the park for the usual fun and games and we are continuing with a virtual vote for a “Community Favorite.” Feel free to participate in one or both events. You can enter the same costume in both events or dress your dogs in different ones.  As always, we are partnering with YaVonne Boyd from Community Wellness Alliance to bring this event for all in the community to enjoy. More details below. 

In Person Dog Costume Contest in the Dog Park 

Our panel of judges from the community is ready to choose the best dog costumes in the neighborhood. 

  • Date & Time: Monday, October 31st, 6:30pm – 7:30pm (ish)

  • Location: At the dog park at 11th and Park Road

  • Categories: Best Human & Dog Combo; Scariest Dog Costume; Cutest Dog Costume and Most Original Dog Costume – Each dog can participate in up to 2 categories

  • Prizes: 1st and 2nd place receive a ribbon they can show off at the park and on the streets around the park

  • Sign-up: You can sign-up your pup ahead of time here - https://bit.ly/3TlZvzS - by midnight on October 30th or in person at the park the day of between 6pm and 6:30pm

Note: Feel free to bring your non-costumed dog to the event. During the event all dogs – costumed or not - have to be leashed to prevent any dogs from escaping as gates will be constantly opening and closing. 

Virtual Voting on a “Community Favorite” Halloween Dog Costume.

The virtual dog costume contests the past two years were a big success, so we want to continue it and give everybody the opportunity to vote for their “Community Favorite”. The winner will be announced at the event at the dog park and published on dog park social media.

Submission & Deadlines: You can submit photos of your dog in a Halloween costume via the channels below, from Saturday, October 22nd  to Saturday, October 29th at 6pm. 

  • Twitter: @11thandBark – Tag us in a tweet or DM us 

  • Instagram: @11thandBarkDC – Tag us in a post or DM us

  • E-mail: 11thandBark@gmail.com – Send us a photo 

Voting & Deadlines: We will post all entries on the Columbia Heights Dog Park page on Facebook and you will be able to vote for your favorite with a simple “like” on Sunday, October 30th 8am to 8pm. The entry with the most “likes” will be the “Community Favorite” and the one with the second most “likes” will be the runner up. 

Note: You have to be a “member” of the Columbia Heights FB group to be able to access the page and vote. If you are not currently a member please request access ahead of time to be able to vote. 


Prizes: 1st and 2nd place receive a ribbon and their photos will be published on dog park social media.

Check out our prior contestants and winners here.

Mardi Paws!

Thanks to YaVonne Boyd and the Community Wellness Alliance for putting together another fun Mardi Paws event at the park. We handed out beads, treats, and dog toys and we held a costume constest. Betty won for the most festive; Patty for cutest; and Susie Q for most creative.

New Board Members

We are excited to announce that the 11th & Bark board recently voted to add three new members. Hailey Duncan, and Fio Briceño joined our Board as new members. Taylor Popielarz also joined the Board and agreed to serve as Secretary–a post previously held by long time Board Member, Eva Guenther. Baird Wallace left the Board, as he moved to a different DC neighborhood and welcomed his new daughter to the world.

Say hi to Hailey, Fio, and Taylor if you see them at the park. To read more about them and our other board members, check out our Who We Are page.

Hailey & Luca

Taylor & Bonnie

Fio & Duke

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The Dog Park Application Has Been Submitted!

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We submitted the dog park application today! Thanks so much to everyone in the community for their amazing support for the park.

The submitted application includes:

  • More than 500 signatures and more than 60 statements of support from people in the community. 

  • Letters of support from eleven local businesses, nine of which are on 11th Street and within a block or a few blocks of the park, and three local nonprofit organizations.

    • Businesses: Queen’s English, Red Rocks, The Coupe, El Chucho, Odd Provisions, Wonderland, Ossobuco, Makan, Patrick’s Petcare, District Dogs, Leslie Knows Homes (realtor)

    • Nonprofits: Community Wellness Alliance, District Bridges, GreenSpaces for DC

  • A letter of support from the ANC1A


To gain this support from the community, we did a lot of community outreach, including:

  • We distributed approximately 500 flyers to the homes surrounding the park, providing them with information about the park application; 

  • We attended the Columbia Heights Farmers Market to inform people about the park application and to collect signatures; 

  • We reached out to large apartment buildings, condo buildings, and a senior home in the area to ask their buildings managers to share information about the park application with their residents. These include Victory Heights, Monroe Tower, Columbia Heights Square, Kenyon Square Condominiums Arcade Sunshine, Park Place, Park Triangle, Highland Park, and 1020 Monroe St NW Condos;

  • We held happy hours at Midlands and Hook Hall to inform people about the park application and collect signatures;

  • We took several 2-hour shifts at the dog park to inform people about the park application and collect signatures; 

  • We attended Open Streets and spoke to people in attendance there; and

  • We provided information on our website and shared information on our email listserv and on our social media platforms--FaceBook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

What happens next? The application will be published in the DC Register and there will be a 30-day period for public comment. DPR will then review the application and the comments and will issue a recommendation. There is no time limit on them. But After DPR issues a recommendation, it must notify us within 30 days. 

We will let you know when we hear from the District.