The first annual Art and Bark in the Park presented by the Checotah Art Guild was a great success! Visitors had fun choosing outfits and accessories to put on their dogs from the large selection provided by CAG member Kathy West before posing for the photographer, Nichole (Nikki) Lopez from Wildflower Photography in front of the scenic backdrops.
Kathy West stated, “This was our first Art in the Park with a dog-theme and it went very well! We will fine tune the plans for next year and hope to see even more entries in the Art and Bark in the Park competitions.”
“Tucker,” a Lhasa Apso owned by Meg Bouman, proved to be a good boy and won Best in Show and “Lou” won Most Athletic. Meanwhile rescue pup “Little Pete”, owned by Woody and Rose Woods, won 1st place in the Waggiest Tail Competition and “Annabelle” the Chiweenie owned by Julie LaRue won 1st place in the Doggy Fashion Show.
Jim Gibson’s Bassett Hound, “Lincoln,” won 2nd place in both the Waggiest Tail Competition and in the Doggy Fashion Show. “Ginger,” owned by Tara Berry, won 3rd place in the Doggy Fashion Show while Cheryl Nix’s Schnazer “Little Bit” won 3rd place in Waggiest Tail.
Besides vendor booths and volunteer animal ambassadors, there were several drawings for various items.
Winners included:
• Denver Gibson bag of dog food
• Diane Gibson – $40 gift certificate for Glovers Veterinary Service
• James Mathies – bag of doggy treats
• LaDonna Rhodes two nights stay for up to two dogs at the Checotah Bark Resort
• Julie LaRue – bag of dogfood
• Cheryl Nix, Tracy Jackson, Teresa Ellifritt, Candice & Fred Edwards and LaDonna Rhodes – all won steaks provided by McCutchen Cattle Call Ranch “Our first event combining our May Art Show with a focus on puppy dogs and their owners went very well and we look forward to doing this again,” CAG President and Director of Heartland Heritage Museum & Gallery Iris Park said. “A very special ‘thank you’ to artist Kathy West whose endless energy and countless creative ideas made this truly an eventful day. She gave it her all! With help from several artists in the Checotah Art Guild who set up booths and helped facilitate the event, we chalked up another successful event for members of the CAG. Special thanks to Checotah Bark Resort, Glover Veterinary Services, Kathy West, Harp’s Grocery and McCutchen Cattle Call Ranch for their donations.”
