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EDWARDSVILLE – There’s truly nothing like seeing a whole gaggle of puppies dressed in cute costumes on a beautiful October morning.

Pooches and pet lovers alike gathered Saturday at Joe Glik Park for the Second Annual Howl-O-Ween Dog Costume Parade.

Cahterine Keck, Founder and Executive Director of Project Restore, a group that works to support sustainability and community development in Africa, organized the event to raise funds for the non-profit. 

“We’ve tried different fundraisers over the years,” Keck said. “A group of us were sitting around and talking about a fundraiser last year and someone came up with the idea for a dog parade. Last year’s parade was very small, but we raised over $300. This year, we were very proactive. It allowed us to open it up to the entire community.”

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Among the thirty pups participating in the parade and contest itself, several other pet owners brought their dogs and families out to the park to watch the parade.

“We’ve had a lot of people that just came out to watch, which is fantastic,” Keck said.

Laurie Chavez, owner of Laurie’s Place in downtown Edwardsville, Dawn Schmidt and Steve Nonn served as the parade’s judges and chose winners on the traits of originality, creativity, theme between the pups and their owner and behavior. Winners received ribbons and medals.

The funds raised at this year’s event will go to help finish a hospital that Project Restore has been building in Africa. The Edwardsville and Collinsville Kohl's department stores generously donated $3,000 to the organization, as well as provided their “associates in action” to help volunteer at the event. Coldwell Banker Brown Realtors served as the event’s title sponsor.

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