Canines in costumes along with their owners turned out in droves Thursday night for Two Bostons’ annual Trick or Treat Pet Parade in Naperville.
“So we have about 500 dogs who end up coming into the downtown Naperville area. We have two separate parades just because it is such a popular event,” said Two Bostons co-owner AdreAnne Tesene.
Doggie trick-or-treating through downtown Naperville
But the parades aren’t just about showing off those costumes…dogs and their owners “paws” at different businesses along the path for a bit of trick-or-treating, picking up some healthy dog-friendly goodies, provided by Two Bostons.
“We go to 13 different stops around town, and then we end with a big costume contest,” said Tesene.
A pup-u-lar tradition for many
It’s become a tradition for many in the area, like Cindy Mikolajczwk, who was at Thursday’s event with her pup, Minnie.
“It’s just so much fun,” said Mikolajczwk. “I had a dog before this, and, I used to take her. When she passed away, and I got Minnie, we grabbed the chance to keep coming,”
The main draw is the unique costumes, with entire families often getting into the dress-up spirit along with their pets.
“You just see so many fun animals,” Mikolajczwk said. “You just can’t believe what people come as.”
Some of the sights this year included a kissing booth pooch, a dog that was both a conductor and the locomotive, a Beetlejuice sandworm, and a family decked out in full Pac-Man garb, dressing their pets as the game’s ghosts.
“I mean, people really go all out with the costumes,” said Tesene.”If you just hang out just to enjoy all of the costumes and the creativity, that’s actually one of my favorite parts about this event.”
Pup-arrazi photo stops part of the fun
Families could capture their looks at some “pup-arrazi” photo backdrops along the way.
Tesene noted the event was a bit of “controlled chaos,” but said the support of the neighboring businesses and the loyalty of the customers coming back for the yearly event made it all worthwhile.
“So one of our core values at Two Bostons is to provide fun experiences,” Tesene noted, “And this couldn’t be a better event for that.”
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