ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. welcomed dog owners and their pets to the county’s annual Strut Your Mutt Canine Costume Parades and Contests at Brookdale Dog Park in Bloomfield and Montclair and Grover Cleveland Park in Caldwell and Essex Fells on Saturday, Oct. 23, and the Branch Brook Dog Park in Newark on Sunday, Oct. 24.
“Our dog parks have become popular places for dog owners to bring their pets, and our canine Halloween costume parades are another opportunity for the public to enjoy our historic park system,” DiVincenzo said. “I am always amazed and impressed with the creativity of the costumes. Congratulations to the winners.”
Award winners at the Brookdale Dog Park contest were:
- Best in Show: Gabriella and Yvet Crocco with Jessica, Franklin and Troy Tapia, all from Little Falls, and their dogs, Layla, Luigi and Lily, who were dressed as characters from the “Despicable Me” movies.
- Cutest Costume: Maggy Tung from Bloomfield and her dog, Remi, who were dressed as bees and beekeepers, came in first; Cristina Ofrancia from Bloomfield and her dog, Frisky, who was dressed as Chucky, came in second; and the Osborne family from Montclair and their dog, Willow, who were dressed as a scuba diver and dive team, came in third.
- Most Creative Costume: Lauren Zedel from Montclair and her dog, Frankie, who was dressed as a dragon, came in first; Lisa and Tom Schmidberger from Bedminster and their dog, Jack, who were dressed as characters from “Pinocchio,” came in second; and Lynn Consovoy and Blake Tramel from Paramus and their dog, Avery Finn, who were dressed as the Orient Express, came in third.
- Best Group Costume: Kristen Graham from Hawthorne and her dogs, Sadie, Ollie, Benji and Rinny, who were dressed as Super Mario Brothers characters, came in first; the Francisco family from Somerset and their dog, Rocket, who were dressed as characters from “Loki,” came in second; and the Colombo family from Carlstadt and their dog, Scrubby, who were dressed as spotted lanternflies, came in third.
Award winners at the Grover Cleveland Park contest were:
- Best in Show: Michelle and Gwen Gettings with Abby, Brooke and Maddy Woods, all from Verona, and their dogs, Bella Gettings and Charlie Woods, who were dressed as Pink Ladies from the movie “Grease.”
- Cutest Costume: The Metz family from Clifton and their dog, Luca, who were dressed as “Toy Story” characters, took first; Anna Marie from Wayne and her dog, Molly, who was dressed as Dumbo, took second; and Shirley Chin from Caldwell and her dog, Pip, who was dressed as a Rutgers cheerleader, took third.
- Most Creative Costume: Rose Russo from North Caldwell and her dog, Max, who was dressed as a bowl of cereal, came in first; the Semos family from Jersey City and their dog, Princess, who were dressed as a bumblebee family and a flower, came in second; and Maggie McGee, Eleanor Jicard and Meg McCabe, all from Caldwell, and their dogs, Lewis and Clark, who were dressed as the explorers Lewis and Clark, came in third.
- Best Group Costume: Jody Tennant from Caldwell and her dogs, Reed and Christmas, who were dressed as the Three Bears looking for Goldilocks, came in first; Eileen, Caitlyn, Keira and Brendon Houlihan from West Caldwell and their dog, Lucky, who were dressed as a firefighter, Cruella De Vil, an elf and a dogcatcher, came in second; and the Geiger family from West Caldwell and their dogs, Brody and Wesley, who were dressed as Harry Potter characters, came in third.
Award winners at the Branch Brook Dog Park contest were:
- Best in Show: Parker, Aiden, Lisa and Jamin Gilrain from Wayne and their dogs, Sprinkles, Malibu and Coral, who were dressed as an ice cream banana split.
- Cutest Costume: Nicole Nuvellino from Springfield and her dog, Julius, who was dressed as Olaf from the movie “Frozen,” came in first; Maddie Jennerich from East Rutherford and her dog, Mila, who were dressed as a horse and cowboy, came in second; and Hector Rodriguez from Newark and his dog, Toby, who was dressed as a firefighter, came in third.
- Most Creative Costume: Vanessa Montesano from Clifton and her dog, Lunchbox, who was dressed as a fortune teller, came in first; Alanna Honore and her friends, all from Newark, and their dogs, who were dressed as Shiloh shepherds, came in second; and Michael Bravata from Newton and his dog, Candie, who was dressed as a pony from “My Little Pony,” came in third.
- Best Group Costume: Tamara Rivera and her family from Roselle and her dog, Zulu, who were dressed as “Star Wars” characters, came in first; Adrianna and Fjori Zguro from Belleville and their dog, Otto, who were dressed as jungle animals with Otto as the king of the jungle, came in second; and the Troche-Hayes family from Newark, who were dressed as characters from the “Spider-Verse” movies, came in third.
Photos Courtesy of Essex County
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