Latest news with #BarkinthePark
Time Out
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
You can bring your cat to a Brooklyn Cyclones game this week
Dog lovers have had their day—now it's the cats' turn. For the first time ever, the Brooklyn Cyclones are inviting feline fans to join their humans at Maimonides Park for the aptly named ' PURRRRfect Game,' happening Tuesday, July 29, when the team takes on the Jersey Shore BlueClaws. It's the minor league club's cat-centric spin on the wildly popular ' Bark in the Park ' nights, and yes, it's exactly what it sounds like: baseball, beachside breezes and a few hundred whiskered companions. Tickets to this historic meowment (sorry, we had to) cost $25 and include a seat in Sections 22 or 24—prime cat territory along the right field line—plus a commemorative PURRRRfect Game T-shirt (sizes S to XL). Each ticket holder can bring up to two cats, but in true cat fashion, they'll need to be secured in a carrier or on a leash throughout the game. No free-roaming floofs allowed. First pitch is at 6:40 pm, which leaves plenty of time to get your cat into its tiny Mets jersey and brace for some very confused stares from the seagulls. The Cyclones are known for their theme nights (past promotions include Seinfeld Night, Marvel Super Hero Day and, of course, Bark in the Park), but this marks their first official foray into the feline demographic. And with cat cafes, cat yoga and even cat film festivals all the rage these days, it was only a matter of time before America's pastime joined the litter box league. While it's unclear whether there will be giveaways, partner shelters or community activations like Bark in the Park typically features, one thing's certain: Coney Island is about to get a little furrier.
Dominion Post
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Dominion Post
Sam Miller leads Black Bears to 7-6 victory in home opener
MORGANTOWN — The West Virginia Black Bears' home opener for their 10th season couldn't have gone any better. The Black Bears bested the Williamsport Crosscutters 7-6 on Tuesday under the lights of Kendrick Family Ballpark. The Black Bears moved to 3-2 on the season and handed the Crosscutters their first loss. West Virginia is now a game back of Williamsport, who leads the MLB Draft League of six teams. It was the Black Bears' first game in Kendrick Family Ballpark, after starting the season on the road with a 2-2 record. Being part of the MLB Draft League, West Virginia drew an active crowd for the season opener. Sam Miller, who drove in the go-ahead run, enjoyed playing in Morgantown for the first time this season. He lives close by in McMurray, Pa. His sibling goes to WVU. 'I've been around West Virginia for a while,' Miller said. 'I love it. It's pretty cool. I've never played with fans like that at a stadium.' The West Virginia squad put on a good showing for the crowd. With the game tied, Miller, from Columbia University, singled on a line drive, scoring Oklahoma State's Beau Slyvester and the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth. It was entertaining all night. The Black Bears scored at least once in the first four innings. The scoring started with a single from Mario Magana, who's committed to Miami. After a run in the second, Jonny McGill singled to make it 3-0 Black Bears after three. The crowd really got a show in the fourth inning. Connor Hicks, who attends Southeastern, rocketed one over the wall, starting a two run inning for the Black Bears, making it 5-0. The undefeated Crosscutters didn't want to lose their undefeated steak easily. Williamsport finally got on the board in the big sixth inning, scoring four. Then, the Crosscutters tacked on two more, tying the game at six. Although the season is still in the early stages, the team is starting to gel well together, especially after the road trip that included a trip to Maryland. There are players from schools all over, and they'll have plenty of time to learn about each other. 'It's only been like four days, but we're a close-knit group,' Miller said. 'The road trip was huge because we are all in close quarters with each other. The Black Bears' home opener starts a long summer season for upcoming and college players, looking to eventually play in the MLB. Most are looking to improve their skills and keep getting reps throughout the summer offseason. Miller was thrown out twice on the base paths Tuesday night, which the focus of what he wants to work on. 'Definitely getting faster,' Miller said. 'I got thrown out twice tonight, so yeah.' To showcase the players, there is a theme night or discount almost every game, including 90s-night, Star Wars night, fireworks after the game, or Bark in the Park. There are a couple of West Virginia Mountaineers on the roster. Skyler King, Ben Lumsden, Chase Swain, and Spencer Barnett are all listed on the summer roster. However, none of them have played this season because of the recent conclusion to their college postseason on Sunday. It's a long road ahead for the Black Bears. They play almost every day until the beginning of September. Tuesday night was just the beginning of a long journey. 'It was nice to get above .500,' Miller said. '[The crowd] was awesome. It was cool.'
New Statesman
11-06-2025
- General
- New Statesman
Egad, I am now so old I remember hat sizes
I had another one of those birthdays the other day. It was a small and pleasant affair, held as per usual in the garden of the Battle of Trafalgar. Two of the children came down from London (the third is in the Far East, so he has an excuse) and the evening was made quorate by a posse of most of my Brighton friends. One of them has moved to Hebden Bridge and was much missed, for she tends to turn up with a bunch of young poetry students and this always amuses me because my children become outraged that they are not the youngest people there. Of course, having youngsters around puts my own advanced age into sharp relief, but on the whole I like them because for some reason the young like me. I used to think I didn't like kids until the time I went on holiday to Canada – good God, imagine having enough money to fly to Canada – and went on a weekend with our host's sister and nephew, an eight-year-old child who kept asking questions I didn't find irritating, which for reasons to this day I do not understand. They were largely historical in nature and despite not having even an O-level in the subject I answered them well enough, certainly to his satisfaction, and he coined the nickname for me of 'Mr History', which I found incredibly gratifying. (Even more gratifyingly, he grew up and attained a doctorate in the stuff, which I suppose makes him Doctor History.) But no youngsters this time, and as my eldest is now 30, I can't even call my kids young any more. When I was my youngest child's age, I had already moved in with his mother-to-be, and by the time I was my eldest's age, I had got round to marrying her, and had had a party which entered legend and nearly resulted in my former director of studies losing his tenure, it was that debauched. And, by an irony of fate, yesterday I posted the last bit of paperwork that is needed in order to get a divorce. So yes, nearly 18 years after we separated. We could have inserted a child now of voting age into that gap. Anyway ladies, I am now on the market again, although actually I am not. I have done the thought experiment of sliding into a relationship again and I just can't see it working out. I have gone too feral, if someone who is mostly in bed all day can be called feral. I am too set in my ways now and I can be fun for an evening or two, but as a permanent houseguest maybe not so much. I do not mind this at all, although right now I am in the second day of an illness whose symptoms are vaguely to do with feeling nauseated and trembly but for once have nothing to do with a hangover. It is probably something to do with my great age, or ancience, as I have decided to start calling it. 'Ancience' is a word I invented the other night and I really think it ought to exist, in the way that we get 'patience' from 'patient'. Why is 'ancience' not a word until now, and can I claim copyright on it, as I did with the concept of a TV show based on Bark in the Park last week? But leaving all that aside, it would be nice to have someone bringing me cups of tea and maybe a plate of Hobnobs and take me to the doctors' if things get worse. Actually the doctors have been trying to get hold of me, because they are very keen on seeing how my chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is holding up. Very well, thank you: my COPD is thriving. So much so that when I lost my steroid inhaler, I had to call them up for an emergency replacement. Of course, as soon as I arranged this it turned up again, and I had to explain what had happened. I was groping for a metaphor and was about to say it's like how you light a fag in order to make the bus come sooner, but then thought better of it as it's not the most appropriate circumstance to think of when your lungs are shot and you're talking to your GP's receptionist. But egad, I am getting old. I use the word 'egad' for a start. I remember hat sizes, for goodness sake. Does anyone use them any more? They're all adjustable these days unless you're getting a proper one and I'm not doing that in a hurry unless I want to remind people of George Galloway. I remember peering into my school cap and wondering whether 7 1/8 was good or bad, and what bearing it had on reality. My shoe sizes never went into eighths. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe I wonder whether this current malady is the harbinger of a deeper disaster. Unusually, my second day of illness has been worse than my first, and this could be a sign of the beginning of the end, all the result of my 60-odd winters on this planet. 'Ah, no; the years O!/How the sick leaves reel down in throngs!' as Thomas Hardy put it in 'During Wind and Rain', and I wonder if he was younger than me when he wrote it. Everyone's younger than me these days. I see photos on social media platforms under titles like 'Scenes from Britain's Unimaginable Past' and I think: Christ, I was alive then. So it would seem that I am now, in a very literal sense of the term, Mr History. Go on, ask me anything. [See also: Reform needs Zia Yusuf] Related
New Statesman
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
Brighton's dog show is the highlight of my year
Photo by Simon Dack/Alamy Live News It is time for the highlight of my year: Bark in the Park, in Queen's Park. In what has become an annual event for us, my friends Ben, Janine, David and Nancy and I bring along a light picnic and a few drinks, and we sit down to watch Brighton's finest dogs, and their owners, compete for rosettes awarded for discipline, talent, self-control and generally being a good boy/girl. Some people and their dogs have been training for it all year. And some of them, one suspects, have not. The first few rounds are nothing special when compared to the final rounds. This might sound dismissive but, really, the last rounds are something else. I arrive at about one o'clock to watch the doggy triathlon. One of its tests involves jumping through a hoop. Very few dogs manage this smoothly, for the owners have to let go of the lead and this leaves the dogs baffled. I turn up just in time to see a bulldog grab hold of the hoop with its teeth and refuse to let go. Its owners, and a few stewards, chase it around the arena to try to prise the hoop from its jaws. This is what we are here for. The crowd goes wild. There are about 200 people here, I'd say, sitting around a roped-off area about 30 square metres in each direction. People are of all ages, and there is a Mr Whippy van, a French-crêpe vendor in an antique Citroën and numerous local businesses selling dog merch such as freshly baked dog treats from the Paws Bakery. Just behind us is a bratwurst van and the smells coming from it are driving me crazy, so God alone knows how the dogs are keeping it together. This is fitting, for one of our favourite rounds is coming up: Temptation Alley. In this, the dogs have to run, or pace, a gauntlet of tempting snacks on either side, and ignore them all, saving themselves up for a much nicer treat at the end. The rate of failure is fairly high, and I do not see how it could be otherwise. But first there is the Golden Oldies round, where dogs over seven years old are walked around the arena and expected to survive. They all do. I don't know who won, but it should have been the white, exhausted-looking dog who may have been a Dachshund once, and who measured the ground in slow, deliberate steps. 'That,' said David, 'is my spirit animal.' Ben sidles up to me and murmurs in my ear. 'Don't look now,' he says, 'but there's a man behind us who's been saying it's weird to turn up to a dog show without any dogs.' (We do not have dogs, but Ben used to look after a savage Pomeranian called, of course, Simon Le Pom. I do not have the space to tell the stories of his reign of terror.) 'Is it really that weird?' Ben continues. 'I mean, if we'd turned up to a school sports day without any kids, then, yes, that would be weird.' Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Then there is the fancy dress round. This, for reasons I am sure I do not have to explain, is a particularly controversial and hard-fought round. One year a dog was given a lion's mane and it looked magnificent, but did not win first prize. 'Fix!' we shouted. It struck me then that this would be fertile ground on which to run an illegal book. One would have to have more inside knowledge, of course, but I have a year until the next one. The dogs in their glad rags parade. 'There's a dog there that's dressed as another dog!' cries Ben, outraged. 'It's a panda,' says his wife, the unspoken words 'you berk' hanging in the air. Three days on, and Ben is still fuming about this. 'It's like they skinned a dog, and then made the other one wear its pelt.' (It didn't really look like that had happened. In fact, it looked rather cute, and definitely like a panda.) In the end it won. A red setter dressed as a belly-dancer came third, even though her dress had slipped off by the end. 'Doesn't have the hips,' says Janine. But the absolute highlight of the day is the sausage catching. In this, the owners throw their dogs a Morrisons cocktail sausage and their dogs have to catch it in mid air without stepping over the line. This is as much a test of the humans' ability to throw as it is of the dogs' ability to catch. More so, in fact. One feels for the dogs let down by their people, who themselves have had all year to train for this. One dog doesn't even stand up to take his sausage. The crowd goes delirious. But in the end, the prize goes to a chocolate Lab, who had also, amazingly, won Temptation Alley. To both ignore treats and catch them in mid air on the same day is a rare, once-in-a-generation skill set. I think of the great England all-rounders: Botham, Flintoff, Stokes. Look, this is the best of Britain. It is amateur, hilarious, and as wholesome as a sunny summer's day. I am going to pitch a documentary about this to Channel 4. Think of the Great British Bake-Off, but with dogs. And none of that Crufts business where, as Ben puts it, the judges lift their tails up and look at their arseholes. Publication of this article implies copyright. So don't pinch this idea. It's mine. Along with the illegal side-bets. [See also: The lost futures of Stereolab] Related
Irish Independent
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Clare heritage site to host first-ever dog show packed with family fun and competitions
Set to offer a 'packed programme of light-hearted competition', Ireland's newest dog show will see canines of all shapes, sizes, and temperaments take centre stage – with one category in particular leaving room for a paw-rent or two. There are 16 categories for pup to compete and win prizes in, including: Smallest Dog, Best Biscuit Catcher, Most Handsome Dog, Waggiest Tail, Veteran Dog, and Best Fancy Dress. Humans can get their moment in the spotlight in the 'Best 6 Legs (Dog and Owner)' category. Young dog lovers won't be left out either, with the 'Young Handlers' category giving children a chance to showcase the connection they share with their four-legged companions. Speaking about the inaugural event, Marie Brennan, Events Manager at Co Clare's Bunratty Castle and Folk Park said: 'We are thrilled to introduce Bark in the Park, which will provide a fantastic day out for families and dog lovers. Dogs have always been part of the Bunratty story - our Irish Wolfhounds are a living link to the castle's medieval past. Bark in the Park carries that tradition forward in a fun, modern way.' The popular County Clare attraction, most well-known for its medieval castle, will also use the event to shine a light on the vital role service dogs play in Irish society. Visitors will have ample opportunity to meet representatives from the Clare branch of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, who aim to share stories of how their dogs support people with visual impairments and families of children with autism throughout the day. Irish Dogs for the Disabled will also be at the event, showcasing their work in providing trained assistance dogs to people with physical disabilities. Bunratty Castle and Folk Park added that their own Irish Wolfhounds, Rían and Míde, will be on site throughout 'Bark in the Park', continuing the long-standing tradition of wolfhounds roaming Bunratty Castle. Advance registration for 'Bark in the Park' is required via by Friday, June 6.
