SATURDAY AT BOADWAY BARKS

Because of the need to multi-task an endless to-do list, the 8 Paws and 2 Tails blog was relegated to the bottom of said list. I did not forget the promised post about this year's Broadway Barks event. You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men? They often go awry. So did my day trip to Broadway Barks.

My friend Phyllis decided to join me this year; we planned to meet early for lunch then walk over to Schubert Alley.  My brother Artie wasn't sure if he wanted to attend after working all day. A Saturday morning decision to attend changed my plans. We would both be in Manhattan for a good part of the day leaving Annie alone for the entire time which we did not want to do.

I called Phyllis; skipping lunch was agreed upon with the three of us going off to dinner instead. Phyllis met me at the start of the event. We walked through Schubert Alley then along 45th Street looking at the dogs and trying to find the cats.

It seemed there were far less cats this year than in years' past. We couldn't find City Critters. Finally we ran into Terri (almost literally) as she walked past us. After a quick hello, Terri hastily explained she needed to find the location for City Critters and off she went. Schubert Alley was divided by the stage for the auction with tables set up on both sides. 

We finished our walk-around with a return trip through Schubert Alley to stop by the tables we missed when I saw Bernadette Peters walking ahead of us. She was stopping at the tables petting the dogs and chatting with the volunteers. Trailing behind her was a group of reporters, videographers and photographers. She stooped down to cuddle a dog giving me a great photo op. I thought "This is it! Finally, I'll get  a great picture." Boy was I wrong! It was hard to squeeze between the media legs but I managed to get a perfect composition. I snapped the camera has a delay; Bernadette Peters turned resulting in an absolutely beautiful picture of the back of her head. Anyone familiar with Bernadette knows he has a beautiful head of curly red hair making her very recognizable from the back. But that wasn't what I wanted; I wanted a close-up. Just as I snapped again someone tapped me on the shoulder. I heard a voice say "Move back lady, you're not supposed to be here." I turned around to see a cop looking at me. This is New York and you don't mouth off to a cop under any circumstances. We were in an open area after all, no barricades between Bernadette and us, no security only the lone cop standing in the middle of the crowd. That was the end of my picture taking. There was no way to get a decent photo of her from the place designated for non-media.

My almost perfect picture of Bernadette Peters.

Schubert Alley was crowded by the time we did our first walk through. The weather was better than expected but still left much to be desired. It was too much for Phyllis and I prompting us to look for someplace indoors to sit and catch up until my brother arrived. We found a quiet area in the Marriott Marquis to while away the time.

The auction started before Artie arrived. The area was packed with attendees; I couldn't get close enough to get a decent photo. The three of us walked along 45th Street finally connecting with Terri. We visited, made our donations then left because of the crush of people. Junior's, our choice for dinner, had too long a wait for a table so we went in search of another place to eat. Several stops later, we hadn't found an air-conditioned restaurant so we proceeded to 42nd Street and Dallas BBQ. We ended our day with great BBQ.

I need to rethink attending future Broadway Barks events. If I attend next year, it might be best to arrive at the beginning, walk through, take photos, meet Terri then leave instead of hanging around for the celebrities or the auction. I have a whole year to think about it...