McKinney, Texas -- Thank you to everyone who participated in the 23rd  Annual Krewe of Barkus Parade – Out of this World - From Astronauts to Aliens - Barkus Shoots for the Stars.  What a day!  The weather was perfect, the crowd was huge, and the costumes were absolutely fabulous!

Here’s a Big Barkus thank you to my husband, Tommy Ray, who kept me sane all week and also pulled duty as our photographer. 

Thanks to Carla Sayle & Stephanie Farrar, who solicited and gathered prizes from downtown merchants, and Paula Hermelyn, who organized and kept track of registration, Susan Mouser who ran check in and helped me organize over $3,500 worth of prizes, 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 the swag bags, and also Cassandra and Eric Wilkins, who handed them out.  Thank you to David Pine, our website guru. Thank you to Monty Day, who did anything we asked.  Our roaming photographer, Pam Klekamp, took the best candid "framed" shots throughout the day.

Event founder Blynda Christian Ray, her husband, Tommy Ray, and support staff smile to the crowd.

My grandson Zac Hogan-Ezell was my shadow and right hand man, and Parker Kelly (Amanda's daughter) was on stage with me, helping me hand out prizes. 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, & Toni Andrukaitis. 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.  Ryan Phelan and Graham Myers were fabulous point men, and Jakia Brunell does a great job with marketing and vendors. We’ve got a great team!

We will be posting photos on our Krewe of Barkus Facebook page, so look for them - and I've already started posting on my own Instagram and Facebook (Blynda Christian).  I'll also be emailing you with pics taken at the event. Tommy is busy editing them now.

And the winners are......

2025 KREWE OF BARKUS WINNERS

JUDGE’S AWARDS
          3^rd Place - #67 – Marcus Gonzalez – Skittles/Golden Yorkie as an astronaut
          2^nd Place - #101 – Fetch Me Later McKinney – Dunkin, Fergus, and Portia A as Toy Story's Buzz Lightyear, the pizza delivery guy, and Woody
          1^st Place - #5– E-flat Porch Band group - Memorial to the dogs that have passed over the Rainbow Bridge - Out of this world, but still in our hearts.

BEST GROUP