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The 2023 Bark in the Park event has been declared a success by Main Street Demopolis. Main Street President, Sean Parker, said over 300 people attended the event. Turnout fell a bit shy of last year’s 500 attendees, but Parker said he was very pleased with the crowd.

“I thought it was a wonderful crowd,” Parker said. “I saw a lot of people out there that I don’t run into as much. That was really nice to see. I think it’s an event that will hang around for a long time.”

Parker said he thinks Bark in the Park brings out a different crowd from the usual downtown events.

“We’ve been successful with all of the little events that we’ve done so far,” said Parker. “For a small town to have that kind of positivity back and have people saying what a great time they had, that’s what we want to hear. Our goal is to host events that everyone can come out to and have fun.”

This year’s Bark in the Park featured the Best Friend contest, where one lucky dog is voted as the Best Friend. The winning pooch gets their face printed on t-shirts and will have a golf cart float in the Christmas on the River day parade. The sponsor for Bark in the Park was the Demopolis Animal Clinic.

“We were so happy to have the Demopolis Animal Clinic as our sponsor for the event. Their sponsorship paid for the band and shirts so the money would be profitable for Main Street. We appreciate all our sponsors,” said Parker. “Our sponsors are how Main Street functions. It’s what allows us to recruit businesses and do these studies to find out what works best for us.”

Parker also said that Main Street still has Bark in the Park t-shirts for sale as well as Main Street Farmers Market shirts. The proceeds go to Main Street Demopolis and helps fund the studies Main Street has done to help sell downtown buildings. The funds also get momentum going in a positive direction to hopefully have vibrant businesses open up in Demopolis.

Main Street expressed its thanks to the following sponsors: The City of Demopolis, Two Rivers Best Western, Demopolis Area Business Council, Naheola Credit Union, Lloyd and Dinning, LLC, Robertson Banking Company, Alabama Power, John C and Marie Suttle Webb Foundation, Marengo County Economic Development Authority, H and M Construction, Lewis Pest Control, Gaddy Electric, the Demopolis Animal Clinic, and Two Rivers Lumber.