Puptown

October 2010 Events

October 9 - Park Clean-up  - 8 A.M.

Since the normally scheduled park clean-up was rained out last week, we will be doing the cleaning this weekend. Everyone is encouraged to participate.

October 13 - Puptown Meet and Greet at Fat Cat - 7 P.M.

Every quarter, puptown members gather to discuss park issues and to enjoy a beer.  We will meet at Fat Cat Bar and Grill  (Broadway, just north of Lawrence Avenue).

October 30 - Park Clean-up  - 8 A.M.

To prepare for our annual fund-raiser, we will be cleaning the park. Everyone is encouraged to participate.

October 30 - Puptown's 10th Annual Howl-O-Ween dog costume Contest  - 2 P.M.

Puptown will be celebrating its annual dog costume contest and fund-raiser. Come on out  and enjoy the day.  There will be great prizes, a silent auctions and of course - the most adorable pooches in costume.

Don't forget your checkbook. Money raised goes to maintenance and upkeep of the park.  All donations are tax deductible.

Rain Date is October 31

If you want to help out by donating your time or a prize, please contact info@puptown.org

Howl-O-Ween Photos

This is just a quick post to let you all know that photos from this year's Howl-O-Ween Costume Contest and Fundraiser are available for viewing.

We'll try to post an official list of the winners soon, but some of them are pictured below: Doggy Gaga, Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf, Lightguard, and Swiffer and Dust Bunny.

Howl-O-Ween, in addition to being loads of fun and goofiness, is Puptown's main fundraiser for the year.  If you haven't become a member yet -- or renewed your membership this year -- please support the park.

Howl-O-Ween: Prize List

Check out the great list of prizes Puptown received for the Howl-O-Ween fund-raiser this year. It is amazing how generous the Uptown Business Community has been to us.

If at all possible, you really should stop in Saturday and try to get something off the Silent Auction Table - such a bargain. These items make WONDERFUL, unique holiday gifts too!

SILENT AUCTION TABLE:

• Behind-the-Scenes at Lincoln Park Zoo: Regenstein Center for African Apes Tour - Priceless
• Blum Animal Hospital – Annual Exam, vaccinations, parasite check - $185
• City Boy Forge: Hand forged steel Belt Buckle of your Dog - $250
• Collins Canine Training - $100 value
• Spornette Hair Brush Set - $100 value
• Essence Pilates : 5 mat classes
• Larry Asimow Landscaping - Gift Certificate for Landscaping Services - $200

If you can't make the event, you should at least pick up a raffle ticket. You can buy one for $5 or get five for $20. There will be over a dozen chances to win with each ticket you purchase. Also, if you sign up or renew your Puptown membership before this Saturday, you automatically receive a free raffle ticket.

RAFFLE:

• $100 Certificate from Sir Spa
• Gift Certificate from Continuum Studio
• Crew Sports Bar - $25
• Wild Pug Bar - $25
• Calo Restaurant - $25
• Fat Cat Bar and Restaurant- $25
• DaVinci Group Restaurant -  $50
• Fireside Restaurant - $20
• Five winners will each receive 5 free car washes from Uptown Car Wash
• Three winners will each receive a certificate from The Bark Bark Club for 30% off any service
• Manigua Academy – 4 salsa or belly dance classes - $50 value
• Bark Bark Club- $30 certificate and a box of treats
• Essence Pilates – 1 mat class $25
• Free Grooming from Chad Jensen @ The Houndry

If you and your dog want to strut your stuff for our judges, you could walk away a winner of one of the following prizes:

DOG COSTUME WINNERS:
First Place

• Home-made: Barking Lot gift certificate for 2 days boarding/2 days daycare $125 value, $30 gift certificate and box of treats from Bark Bark Club
• Store-Bought: Pet Portrait by Paul Strabbing Photography $125 value, $30 gift certificate from and Box of Treats from Bark Bark Club

Second Place

• Home-made: Soggy Paws Gift Basket, Leash/Seat belt from The Houndry
• Store-bought: Urban Animal Gift Basket, Leash/Seat belt from The Houndry

Third Place

• Home-made:  $50 gift basket from Butcher’s Block Bones
• Store-bought: $50 gift basket from U.S. Bones

All money goes to upkeep and maintenance of Puptown Dog Friendly Area at Margate Park.  Puptown donations are tax exempt.

Renew On-line -- Get a Raffle Ticket!

Hey Puptown Fans,

 

For this week only, renew your membership on-line and be automatically entered in the Puptown Howl-O-Ween Raffle. Yes, you read that correctly: renew and get a raffle ticket.

 
This year's prizes are Puptown's best ever and there are more chances to win then ever.  You really want to take advantage of this. You do not need to be at the drawing to win -- we will contact you.

Offer expires this Friday (October 23) at midnight -- so don't delay.

To renew your membership, go to: http://www.puptown.org/membership.html

For information on Howl-O-Ween and some of the raffle prizes, go to: http://www.puptown.org/2009/10/howloween-2009.html

 

 

Howl-O-Ween 2009: Saturday, Oct. 24

Join us for Puptown's scariest event of the year ...

Date: Saturday, Oct. 24, 2 - 4 p.m.
*rain date: Sunday, Oct. 25

Costume Contest
Registration ($5) begins at 1:15 p.m.
Judging begins at 2 p.m. 

Judges
Nancy Myerson
Jill Moyse 
Stephanie Aldort

Prizes
1st, 2nd & 3rd prize for best homemade and store-bought costumes 

Raffle Grand Prize
Restaurant gift certificate

Additional raffle prizes include gift certificates to area restaurants, dog stores and more! Silent auction, too! 

Need costume inspiration? Check out last year's Howl-O-Ween photos.

Please support our generous donors: 

Restaurants 

• DaVinci Group Restaurants: $50 gift certificate
• Wild Pug: $25 gift certificate
• Crew: $25 gift certificate
• Fat Cat: $25 gift certificate
• Fireside Restaurant: $20 gift certificate 

Art

• CityboyForge: Belt buckle custom designed with your dog's image
• Paul Strabbing Photography: Portrait of your dog

Pet Supplies & Services 

• Blum Animal Hospital: Vaccination package
• Collins Canine: 5 training sessions
• The Barking Lot: 2 days of daycare & 2 days of boarding
• U.S. Bones: Gift certificates & bones gift basket
• Urb-Animal: Gift basket
• The Houndry: Dog leash & seatbelt
• Chad Jensen: Free dog grooming
• Bark Bark Club: Gift certificates & box of treats

Music & Movement

• Manigua Academy of Music/Dance: Package of 4 dance lessons
• Essence Pilates: Package of 5 pilates classes

Spa & Beauty

• Continuum Studio: $25 gift certificate (4)
• Sir Spa for Men: $100 gift certificate
• Spornette: $100 hair Brush Set

Other Offers

• Uptown Car Wash: Package of 5 free car washes (5)

Howl-O-Ween: Volunteers & Donations Needed

It's our favorite time of year - Howl-O-Ween!
 
Puptown's 9th Annual Howl-O-Ween party and costume contest -- our biggest fundraiser of the year -- is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24. Barbara Kramer (Sam and Guinness's owner), has offered be the coordinator, and she needs our help.

Here's how you can help:
 
Make a donation and promote your business:
If you have a product or service you would like to donate to the silent auction or raffle, let us know. It's a great way to help the park and your business.
 
Volunteer:
Planning and set-up volunteers needed. If you have never volunteered for Puptown, this is a great place to start. You only need to spend an hour or so of your time and you will have that, "I did something good for my community feeling" and make new friends.

Please join in the fun! Contact John Lenti,(volunteer@puptown.org) for more information.

p.s. Missed last year's event? Check out photos from Howl-O-Ween 2008.

Puptown Thanks You!

Thanks to all who participated in making Puptown's eighth annual Howl-O-Ween costume contest a great success! This year, 77 good-natured dogs and their incredibly creative guardians participated in front of a crowd of approximately 200 Puptown members, friends, neighbors and bemused passerby.

Our judges -- Alderman Mary Ann Smith, Janis Taylor of the Chicago Park District, and Puptown's very own Stephanie, aided by her faithful companions, Sugar and Shadow -- had the difficult task of choosing the best-costumed, but every dog who came to play went home a winner.

Proceeds totaled nearly $2,000, all of which will go toward park maintenance and future structural improvements. We enjoyed the support of more than 20 area businesses that donated raffle and silent auction prizes and other services. In particular, we thank the Bark Bark Club for its sponsorship and Soggy Paws for providing goodie bags.

None of this would have been possible without all the volunteers who solicited donations, cleaned and readied the park that morning, worked at the event and tidied up afterward. A special shout-out to this year’s Howl-O-Ween Planning Committee members: Ron Caperton, Christine Cupaiuolo, David Goyer, Judy Joyce, John Lenti, Rebecca Mark, Andrea Powers, Jacob Stover, Stacy Szczelina, and Nicole Visnyak, and to photographer Alan Jacobs for donating proceeds from the sale of dog photos. And special thanks to our emcee, Bernie Heidkamp, and graphic artist extraordinaire, Eric Wagner.

- Ellen Szalinski, Howl-O-Ween coordinator

Puptown Howl-O-Ween Photos - Now See the Movie!

A friend of Coco Chanel's owner created a video out of the Howl-O-Ween photos. How cool! Take a look here -- that's Coco (obviously) in the first scene:

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Photo of Your Pooch?

Was your dog the cutest/scariest/most ridiculous looking dog at Howl-O-Ween 2008? Do you wish you had a photo to remember it?

Fortunately professional photographer Alan Jacobs, a Puptown member, was on hand, and his beautiful prints from the day are available for sale (they're not the same as the Flickr shots; they're better!). Prices start at just $2.50.

Start browsing here. The best part? All proceeds go to Puptown. Thanks, Alan!

Howl-O-Ween Photos and Winners

Coco Chanel, Wonder Woman and Elvis were all in the house on Saturday for a good cause -- raising funds for park maintenance and capital projects.

The eighth annual Howl-O-Ween costume contest was a huge success, with sunny skies and lots of laughter, especially as "Michael Yelps," sporting a gold medal, came out of his shorts. Too fast for his swimsuit, it seemed.

Also spotted: "Joe Six Pack"; "Aire Jordan"; Snow White; Snow White again; an Ewok from "Star Wars"; and a special appearance by Buck from "Call of the Wild."

We also spied some busy bees; a pig; a lobster; a French sailor; a Chicago hot dog or two; a few felons and several police officers.

Below are the winners and more photos; visit our Flickr Howl-O-Ween page to view all the contestants and a few dogs frolicking au naturel.

Congratulations to all!

Best Store-Bought Costume
First: Jenna (Pirate)
Second: Honey (Wonder Woman)
Third: Shaggy (Dog Fish)

Best Homemade Costume
First: Ellie (Horse)
Second: Sabi (Geisha girl)
Third: Ms. Joey (Elvis)

Photos by Christine Cupaiuolo

It's Almost Here! Join us for Howl-O-Ween Saturday, Oct. 18

Be there or be scared! Puptown's 8th Annual Puptown Howl-O-Ween Party & Costume Contest is this Saturday, Oct. 18. Come join us!

Come early and help us clean the park at 8 a.m. Set-up begins at noon. To help with event preparation, contest registration or raffle ticket sales, please contact Ellen Szalinski, Howl-O-Ween coordinator.

Costume Contest
Registration ($5) begins at 1 p.m.
Judging begins at 2 p.m.

Raffle
Purchase tickets on-site.
Drawing: 3 p.m.
Grand Prize: $300

Additional raffle prizes include gift certificates to area restaurants, dog stores and more!

Silent Auction
Bidding open from 1 p.m. - 2:45 p.m

For a complete description of events and our sponsor list, click here.

Save the Date: Howl-O-Ween Oct. 18

Not to rush the end of summer, but we've got a date for the annual Howl-O-Ween dog costume contest and party: Saturday, Oct. 18.

Festivities run from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Registration for the costume contest starts at 1:15 p.m.

Howl-O-Ween is Puptown's biggest fundraiser and includes a wonderful selection of prizes, raffle tickets and tasty treats for dogs and their owners. We hope to see you all there, with or without a costume!

Here's info about last year's event to give you a taste of what to expect and plenty of photos to peruse.

Howl-O-Ween is put together entirely by Puptown volunteers. If you'd like to help, please come to our first planning meeting Wednesday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m. We'll meet at the Margate Field House.

Or contact Ellen Szalinski, Howl-O-Ween coordinator, at ellen@puptown.org.

Here's a partial list of the tasks involved:

- Soliciting raffle and silent auction prizes
- Distributing posters
- Selling raffle tickets
- Event set-up and staffing

*Rain date: Sunday, Oct. 19.