The third annual Howl-o-Ween Costume Parade will take place at Tlaquepaque on Sunday, Oct. 15, from 1 to 3 p.m. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Sedona Humane Society. The parade route will begin at Tlaquepaque’s Calle Independencia and will end at Tlaquepaque North.

“People come dressed with their canines and enter the competition,” event sponsor Kathy Louderback of Bow Wow Pet Boutique said. “There will be fun activities for the families. [It’s a] cool family event. You need to sign up on the Humane Society’s website and the proceeds all go to the Humane Society. My biggest impression every year is [how] there’s so much excitement and enthusiasm, it’s contagious. It’s amazing how creative everybody’s getting every year and everyone seems to get more creative every year.”

All the costumes have to be pet-friendly; owners with pets dressed in costumes that appear to cause discomfort or distress will be disqualified. 

Tickets are $10 for one or two people and a dog or $30 for a business or group. Floats are allowed but may not exceed two feet in width and four feet in length or be more than four feet high.

There will be $100 prizes with trophies and honorable mentions in the categories of doggone cutest, craziest canine and leader of the packs which is the group category. Local businesses are encouraged to promote their establishments by participating.

“If that’s the first thing that pops into your mind is, ‘Wow, that’s crazy,’ that’s probably the [winner],” Louderback said. “We’ve had a zombie walk and then we’ve had Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. That was a really great one. And then there’s just super-cute costumes.”

New for this year is the carved pumpkin contest. A $5 entry fee will allow attendees to submit their hand-carved pumpkins.

The entry fees will go to the Sedona Food Bank, and along with bragging rights there will be $100, $50 and $25 gift certificates for the first through third place winners. The contest will be judged by a popular vote and the winners will be announced on Monday, Oct. 16.

“We have a pet psychic coming and there’s going to be a photo station for people to take selfies,” Louderback said. We have some vendors that are going to be there as well.”

For more information on the costume parade, visit humanesocietyofsedona.org/howloween or contact Kathy Louderback at kathylouderback@gmail.com.