Hundreds of Brooklynites and their four-legged friends gathered in Fort Greene Park this weekend for the annual “Great Pupkin” costume contest — one of the borough’s most beloved events.
Hosted by Fort Greene PUPS, the event drew imaginative canine costumes, from pop culture tributes to DIY masterpieces, proving once again that creativity and community thrive even on four paws.
Judges at this year’s installment included Council Member Crystal Hudson, podcaster Ashley Hamilton and Pamela Soberman of the Fort Greene Park Conservancy.
The contest has grown into one of Brooklyn’s most joyful fall traditions. Organizer Alana Davis of Fort Greene PUPS told Brooklyn Paper that the group once relied on posters and physical marketing to “get the word out,” but now mostly depends on word of mouth thanks to the event’s growing popularity.
Davis said the contest has become a staple on the neighborhood calendar, drawing both seasoned competitors and newcomers.
“It’s such a moment of joy and light in what is about to be the dark months of winter,” she said. “You don’t have to think about anything — you can just go watch cute dogs in costumes. It’s really creative, and it brings out super creative people in the area.”
This year’s first-place honor went to Rosie, a 15-year-old white Chihuahua whose costume transformed her into the viral “blueberry muffin dog” meme. Owner Natalie Ledbetter and her husband, Jonathan, created the illusion by turning Rosie into a tray of muffins with fake foam batter and blueberries.
Ledbetter told Brooklyn Paper this was their first time entering — and that winning was “bonkers and bizarre.”
“I’m just really happy to know that everyone has dumb humor like us,” she said.
Ledbetter and her husband have made it a tradition to adopt senior dogs.
“We typically adopt senior dogs and give them the best life until we have to say goodbye,” she explained.
The costume came together on a whim after the couple’s annual “fall foliage trip.”
“We were driving back from the Berkshires and were like, ‘Let’s enter this year,’” she said. “We might as well do the meme that everyone sends us every five minutes.”
What started as a joke turned into a runaway win. Ledbetter recalled the judges telling her, “When we saw your costume, we knew you’d be the winners.” “And my husband and I are like, ‘Why though? This is dumb!’” she said.
Even after the big reveal, the couple couldn’t believe it.
“We were totally taken aback,” Ledbetter said. “It’s such a good story to tell, though.”
Second place went to Dottie, a tiny dog dressed as a jewel thief pulling off a miniature Louvre heist. Owner Alexandra Olarnyk said the costume came together the night before.
“We wanted something funny and unique,” she explained. “We were thinking, ‘What if a tiny dog tried to rob the Louvre and reenact it?’”
The result was a hand-painted replica of the Paris museum’s pyramid and façade, built from foam board and acrylic paint. “I ran to the store after work, got all the materials — it was made within four to five hours,” she said.
The Judges’ Choice Award went to Beast, a black pug whose owners, Jessica Marx and her husband, turned their family into a movie theater concession stand.
“My husband was a bag of popcorn, I was a cup of spilling soda and Beast was the little popcorn that fell out of the bag,” Marx told Brooklyn Paper.
The couple — both art school graduates — take Halloween “very seriously.” Marx said planning began in August and described it as “like a sport.”
For Marx, the Pupkin is more than just costumes.
“It’s just a time to be silly and let your guard down,” she said. “There’s nothing more positive than seeing dogs dressed in silly costumes and their owners enjoying it.”
From crocheted ramen bowls to “Dumb and Dumber” duos, this year’s Pupkin contest once again illustrated the heartbeat of Fort Greene.
“You can feel the joy in the air — and even people who just stumble upon it end up staying,” Davis said. “Everyone gets excited the morning of.”
Additional reporting by Erica Price
