McKinney, Texas -- Thank you to everyone who participated in the 21st Annual Krewe of Barkus Parade – Unleash Your Superheroes - Barkus Salutes the Good Dogs. What a day!
The weather was perfect, the crowd was huge, and the costumes were off the hook! We were delighted with the support and show of love, celebrating the life of Amanda Kelly.
We were proud to be a part of the Benji statue unveiling. I don't think the day could have been more perfect.
Here’s a Big Barkus thank you to Patty Brown who kept me focused and sane, Stephanie Farrar, who solicited and gathered prizes from downtown merchants and had wonderful help this year by Carla Sayle, and Paula Hermelyn, who organized and ran the registration & check in, along with Jennifer Dollard, Vanesa Stucki, Shung Pak and many others. Vanesa also coordinated the parade - no small task!
Thanks to Laureen Lehman, who stuffed and handled the swag bags, and also kept lines moving along and things running smoothly. Thank you to David Pine, our website guru. Thank you to Monty Day who did anything we asked, including driving the lead truck. All of our krewe helped in the parade as well.
Our judges had a monumental task before them, as always! Thank you to Jessica Hogan, Carla Sayle, & Wendolin Mercado. I don’t know how you do it. Our City Events coordinator, Gregory Hearns, was an absolute pleasure to work with as was Andrew Jones, our Cultural District Director. We’ve got a great team!
Our photographers, Patrick McCormick and Terree Stone, filled in at the last minute and are donating the photos of the event, so we will be emailing or texting them to you in the next few days. Didn't they do a great job?
And the winners were….
· Best of Show – The Lady Godiva Memorial Award
o Medical Superheroes with a hospital on wheels - Con, Griffin, Rosie, Grey & Lilly with Sarah Riehl & family
· Most Creative - The Amanda Kelly Award
o 1st Place - Peps the Pope and Pontificators with Adah Leah Wolf and krewe
o 2nd Lifeguard on Doody – Harper Lee with Aimee Brown
o 3rd Astronauts– Cooper & Joey with Raquel Francis
· Best Float
o 1st Coastguard – Lilly LaRue with Jan Nelsm, Tristan, Kyndra, Llela, & Ava
o 2nd Apollo 11 Astronauts – Pebbles & Mountain with Christie Smistad
o 3rd Medical Superheroes – Lola & Blue with Donna & Reed Fontenot and Jon & Mia
· Best Dog/Owner Combo
o 1st Wounded Civil War Hero – Zuri with Heather Ferguson
o 2nd Thor – Thor, Dog of Thunder with Lisa Herrick as Frigga
o 3rd Founding Fathers – Renzo as George Washington with Patricia Marinelli
· Best Group
o 1st MYO Salutes Art Teachers "The EARTH Without ART is just EH" – Sara Jane & Lucy with Karen Rose, Doug, Haley, Danielle, Ruby, Layla, Sophie, Kennedy, Brooke, Ellie, Zaina, Abbie, Paul, Josh, Bella, Luke, & Andie
o 2nd The Vet – Tyger with Megan Aeschbach
o 3rd Firefighters – Avery, Kaiser, & Heidi with Kyna Smith
· Best Use of Theme
o 1st In Honor of Fallen Marine Nathan Anderson – Tommy with Amanda Anderson, Michelle Stanley, Angela Cooper, & Pam Poteet
o 2nd Remember The Alamo – Beltre with Jamie Perrenoud
o 3rd Doug Superhero– Gus with Trey & Cheryl Bell
Contestants really outdid themselves. this year! Congratulations! Remember, our parade is always the Sunday before Mardi Gras, so next year the date is February 11, 2024.
Put on your boots and hold onto your cowboy hats, we are bringing Barkus back home to celebrate Texas.
What's so special about Texas?
EVERYTHING!
So, in 2024 we are going to celebrate that to the fullest because there is no place quite like this state. Our theme will be - Barkus Salutes The Lone Star State - Celebrating the history, culture, cuisine, and crazy characters of TEXAS. And don't forget the Texas State Fair. Let's do Barkus BIG next year - the Texas way!
