Just one day before Halloween, the Starlite Motel and Catskills Cocktail Club hosted an event offering fun for the whole family – including its furriest members. The occasion was the fourth annual Halloween Pet Parade. Proceeds from the event’s raffle benefit the Ulster County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (USPCA).

Alix Umen, one of the owners of the Starlite Motel, which opened about seven years ago, said the Catskill Cocktail Club serves drinks every Friday, and the pet parade grew out of that tradition. According to Umen, the event comes together with help from friends and acquaintances and offers a fun, casual opportunity for people to dress up alongside their pets.

“A lot of the dogs come here on a regular basis anyway with their owners,” Umen said. “So it's a lot of regulars that we have already, and they just happen to have pets, and so they come.”

This year’s parade drew about a dozen participants, with a wide range of creative costumes for the dogs. One arrived as Tupac, a family came dressed as the main characters from Stephen King's “The Shining,” and another duo went with an alien theme. While a DJ played music, The Freckled Fork and M*stard provided food.

Brendan Casey, who founded the Catskill Cocktail Club, served everything from beer to cocktails alongside Lisa Rondholz. For them, the event is a fun way to bring the community together and enjoy some creative costumes—and, of course, some very cute dogs.

“The dogs are so cute, and the people put a lot of effort into their costumes,” Casey said. Rondholz added that some people start planning their costumes months in advance.

This year, according to Umen, Casey, and Rondholz, the contest was judged by a panel of local celebrities: Bjorn Quenemoen and Stephanie Bauman of BjornQorn, along with Vera Farmiga and Renn Hawkey. With so many great costumes, choosing the winners was difficult. According to Jaclyn McGarril, who served as the event's MC, this year's deliberations took longer than ever.

In the end, best pet-and-owner duo went to a family who dressed as the main characters in The Shining. Best overall went to a trio who dressed as Garth. Best handmade pet costume went to a duo that went as Biggie and dressed her pitbull as Tupac. This year, the costumes were such a hit that an additional award, Judges’ Choice, was given to Marlow and Pico, who sported a princess costume for the dog.