North Aurora veterinarian: Pet Parade showcases importance of pets
Kari Shemansky can still remember marching at 6 years old with her grandparents' dog in the inaugural North Aurora Pet Parade.
The dog, a dachshund, was dressed as a hot dog, and she wore a chef costume. The pair won an award.
On Sunday, Shemansky returned for the 33rd annual Pet Parade to share the experience with her daughter, MacKenzie Villarreal, 11. The North Aurora residents showed off their blue pit bull, Princess, who was dressed in a pink tutu.
"It's the value of pets in our lives - that's what we're trying to showcase," said Dr. Tom Brooks, parade organizer and veterinarian at the Fox Valley Veterinary Clinic. "This demonstrates that adults and kids share those values. That's the way it started, and that's the way it remains."
Princess was one of more than 50 pet participants gathered at Routes 31 and 56 before parading down State Street to Riverfront Park.
"It's really cool that they do this for the community," Shemansky said. "It's fun for everybody to dress up and be together."
The parade is part of the final day of North Aurora Days, a weekend-long event that offers food vendors, carnival rides and live music. Sunday's festivities also included a car, truck and bike show at the Mooseheart campus.
In the competition portion of the Pet Parade, judges pick the pets they feel best represents each of the 16 different categories, which vary from best costume to longest tail to best smile.
Each year, 26 prizes are handed out.
Most contestants are dogs, but cats, hamsters and even a hedgehog also made an appearance this year.
Eight-year-old Alessandra Granados of North Aurora brought one of the parade's unique pets: a 14-year-old turtle named Sheldon.
"I like that you get to put your pets in the wagon and pull them around to the park," Alessandra said.
Some contestants dressed up for the occasion, including a Labradoodle named Anna, who wore a Princess Anna costume from the Disney movie "Frozen."
Owners Kelly and Gavin Kirchner, both 27, were dressed as Olaf and Sven, also characters from the movie. The couple, who recently moved to North Aurora, registered for the parade for the first time this year.
"It's really nice to see the whole community come out and be together," Kelly Kirchner said.
Brooks said tradition remains an important component of the parade.
"We keep our same old categories. We keep it simple," he said. "But it works out that people use their imagination to make the categories come alive in a different way."