You know what’s better than Halloween? Celebrating spooky season with your best four-legged friend!
Join the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University for a Halloween Dog Parade on Friday, October 30, beginning at 5 p.m.
The parade celebrates the four-legged friends and their people that enliven our campus every day! Register online here. Registration is free. The parade will begin at the flagpole at the center of campus and wend its way through some of the Arboretum gardens.
“The Arboretum is unique in that we're a botanical garden that welcomes dogs and their owners together to explore the gardens. There are a lot of dogs we see every day, some even twice a day,” said Kathy Salisbury, Director of the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University. “We get to know them, and we know they enjoy being in the Arboretum. We thought we'd celebrate Halloween by inviting our dog-walking community in for a parade!”
Since it is a dog parade at the Arboretum, there is a bit of a twist, Salisbury said.
“There is a requirement that the costumes be nature-based,” she said. “They need to be connected to nature in some way.”
Dressing as a lion, flower or bumblebee, perfect! Dressing a dachshund as an Oscar Mayer wiener? Not this time!
“No dogs dressed as hot dogs, but a dog dressed as a spider? Awesome!” she said. “All you need to do is just add four more legs!”
According to Salisbury, there will be prizes for the most realistic, funniest, scariest, most sustainable and most creative costume.
No dog? No problem! Everyone is welcome to come and enjoy the parade!
A Bark Walk Highlighting Trees
The October 30 parade isn’t the only four-legged friend centered event coming up this fall in the Arboretum.
On Sunday, December 6, the Arboretum will host its annual Bark Walk from 10 to 11 a.m.
Visitors and their well-behaved and leashed canine companions are invited to explore the Ambler Arboretum's trees while learning why trees have different types of bark and how to use the bark to tell the trees apart. Register online for the Bark Walk here. The walk is just $5 for the general public and free for members of the Ambler Arboretum Bark Club.
That’s right! The Arboretum has a club specifically for dogs and their people!
“The dog membership is for a lifetime — their human will renew their membership yearly,” said Salisbury. “The Bark Club is a special way for us to invite people and their pets into the gardens.”
Bark Club membership includes ncludes an invitation to all Bark Club exclusive events including the Bark Walk in December and Dog Days of Summer in August and supports the gardens that your dog loves!
Contact [click-for-email] for more information on how to become a Bark Club member!