New Board Members

We are excited to announce that the 11th & Bark board recently voted to add three new members. Hailey Duncan, and Fio Briceño joined our Board as new members. Taylor Popielarz also joined the Board and agreed to serve as Secretary–a post previously held by long time Board Member, Eva Guenther. Baird Wallace left the Board, as he moved to a different DC neighborhood and welcomed his new daughter to the world.

Say hi to Hailey, Fio, and Taylor if you see them at the park. To read more about them and our other board members, check out our Who We Are page.

Hailey & Luca

Taylor & Bonnie

Fio & Duke

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The Dog Park Application Has Been Submitted!

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We submitted the dog park application today! Thanks so much to everyone in the community for their amazing support for the park.

The submitted application includes:

  • More than 500 signatures and more than 60 statements of support from people in the community. 

  • Letters of support from eleven local businesses, nine of which are on 11th Street and within a block or a few blocks of the park, and three local nonprofit organizations.

    • Businesses: Queen’s English, Red Rocks, The Coupe, El Chucho, Odd Provisions, Wonderland, Ossobuco, Makan, Patrick’s Petcare, District Dogs, Leslie Knows Homes (realtor)

    • Nonprofits: Community Wellness Alliance, District Bridges, GreenSpaces for DC

  • A letter of support from the ANC1A


To gain this support from the community, we did a lot of community outreach, including:

  • We distributed approximately 500 flyers to the homes surrounding the park, providing them with information about the park application; 

  • We attended the Columbia Heights Farmers Market to inform people about the park application and to collect signatures; 

  • We reached out to large apartment buildings, condo buildings, and a senior home in the area to ask their buildings managers to share information about the park application with their residents. These include Victory Heights, Monroe Tower, Columbia Heights Square, Kenyon Square Condominiums Arcade Sunshine, Park Place, Park Triangle, Highland Park, and 1020 Monroe St NW Condos;

  • We held happy hours at Midlands and Hook Hall to inform people about the park application and collect signatures;

  • We took several 2-hour shifts at the dog park to inform people about the park application and collect signatures; 

  • We attended Open Streets and spoke to people in attendance there; and

  • We provided information on our website and shared information on our email listserv and on our social media platforms--FaceBook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

What happens next? The application will be published in the DC Register and there will be a 30-day period for public comment. DPR will then review the application and the comments and will issue a recommendation. There is no time limit on them. But After DPR issues a recommendation, it must notify us within 30 days. 

We will let you know when we hear from the District.


The 2011 Annual Meeting is Tonight

The 2021 Annual Meeting will take place Tonight, Tuesday, November 16 at 7PM over zoom.

At the meeting we will hear from Council Member Brianne Nadeau about the status of the park, meet new ANC Commissioner, Brandolon Barnette, and hear from members of the 11th & Bark Board about our acomplishments over the last year. Also, you’ll get a chance to meet fellow park users and learn how to get more involved.

Please RSVP by filling out this form.

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ANC 1A Unanimously Passed Resolution Supporting the Park

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Last night the ANC 1A passed a resolution that both supported our dog park application and supported 11th and Bark being an official “Friends of”group for the park. This resolution required for our “Friends of” application and our dog park application.

New ANC Commissioner, Brandolon Barnett sponsored the resolution. After a few questions from the commissioners and a short presentation from the Chair of 11th & Bark, Commissioner Barnett moved to pass the resolution and Commissioner Dottie Wade Love seconded the motion. The motion was then passed unanimously.

We are so grateful to Commisioner Barnett for supporting both the park and 11th & Bark. And we are pleased that the first resolution he passed as a Commissioner was related to our park.

We are now one step closer to becoming an offical District Dog Park.

The Dog Costume Contest Was Amazing

MC Lori Robertson of 11th & Bark, Council Member Brianne Nadeau. and contest judges Brianne Dornbush from District Bridges, ANC Representative for 1A06 Brandolon Barnett , and Eric Cuevas of the 11th & Bark Board

We had a huge turnout for our 2021 Halloween Dog Costume Contest. Thanks to Brandolon Barnett the ANC Representative for 1A06, Brianne Dornbush from District Bridges, and Eric Cuevas, Member of the 11th & Bark Board for being the judges for our in-person contest. Thanks also to Ward 1 Council Member Brianne Nadeau who stopped by the festivities with her family. And, thanks to Duke’s mom for all these great photos.

Categories:

  • Best Human & Dog Combo

  • Scariest Dog Costume

  • Cutest Dog Costume

  • Most Original Dog Costume

  • Online Community Favorite.

Find all the winners and contestants here.

The Annual Halloween Dog Park Dog Costume Show is Back in Person (and virtual)!

Last year, COVID-19 forced our annual dog park dog costume contest to go virtual. But this year we are back in person at the park for the usual fun and games. If you loved the virtual contest, don’t worry, we will still have a virtual contest for a “Community Favorite” too. You can participate in one or both events, with the same or different costumes. And, as always we are partnering with the Community Wellness Alliance to bring this event for all in the community to enjoy.

In-Person Dog Costume Contest in the Dog Park 

Date & Time: October 31st, 5pm – 6pm (ish)

Location: The dog park at 11th and Park Road

Categories:

  • Best Human & Dog Combo

  • Scariest Dog Costume

  • Cutest Dog Costume

  • Most Original Dog Costume

(Each dog can participate in up to 2 categories)

Prizes: 1st and 2nd place receive a ribbon they can show off at the park .

Judges: Brandolon Barnett the ANC Representative for 1A06, Brianne Dornbush from District Bridges, and Eric Curevas, Member of the 11th & Bark Board. 

Sign-up:

  • Online registration before the event (No later than Oct 30th): https://bit.ly/3jsrXjD

  • In-person registration will be at the park the day of between 4:30pm and 5pm

Note: Feel free to bring your non-costumed dog to the event. During the event all dogs – costumed or not - have to be leashed to prevent any dogs from escaping as gates will be constantly opening and closing.

Virtual “Community Favorite” Contest

Submissions: You can submit photos of your dog in a Halloween costume via the channels below, from Saturday, October 23rd until Thursday, October 28th at 6pm. 

  • Twitter: @11thandBark – Tag us in a tweet or DM us 

  • Instagram: @11thandBarkDC – Tag us in a post or DM us

  • E-mail: 11thandBark@gmail.com – Send us a photo 

Voting: We will post all entries on the Columbia Heights Dog Park Facebook page and you will be able to vote for your favorite with a simple “like” from Friday, October 29th 8am to Sunday, October, 31st, 3pm. The entry with the most “likes” will be the “Community Favorite” and the one with the second most “likes” will be the runner up. (If you aren’t already a member of the page, join now so that you are approved into the group in time to vote.)

Announcement of the Winner: The winner will be announced at the dog park during in-person contest and published on dog park social media.

Prizes: 1st and 2nd place receive a ribbon and their photos will be published on dog park social media. 

Check out photos from our 2018, 2019 and 2020 competitions.