Not the usual faraway destination, but inhabited with 2500 mostly beautiful, sometimes exotic creatures, the Westminster Dog Show in NYC might become one of your most memorable travel destinations if you are among the dog crazies. The two nights on TV every February showcase about 200 dogs chosen as best of their breeds then the ultimate top dog, but my favorite events happen during the days when those 200 plus 2000 more equally beautiful canines are right before your eyes.
This year was the 149th Westminster, and the first year the show was back in Manhattan since 2020. The day events are at the Javits Center and the night shows are at Madison Square Garden. MSG is so huge there will probably always be available tickets, but the day events ALWAYS sell out. We didn’t know that on our rookie year in 2020 and procured our day tickets one by one from individuals outside the event the first day, then got up at 5 AM the second day to queue for the 100 available reserve tickets. Much easier to get on the westminsterkennelclub.org website and let them notify you when tickets go on sale. This year a 2-day pass for day tickets was $80, and the night tickets were about $100 for the 2-day pass on Ticketmaster.
At the Javits Center this year there were 10 rings for breed judging running simultaneously. The judging schedule shows where and when each breed is competing. Each ring has limited bleacher seating, and often you stand; and then you’re off to another ring.
Westminster is a bench show, meaning each dog is assigned a place to stay during the day while being groomed or resting. The Javits is enormous, and there are rows and rows of dogs with their handlers and groomers. The dogs usually get their baths at home (or the hotel) and arrive in an assortment of bathrobes and ear wraps. Some, like the poodles and Old English sheepdogs, take hours for blow outs. During all of this you can freely wander the aisles and talk to the handlers. They love to talk about their dogs and can share valuable information. Most are happy to let you pet the dogs. This may sound daft, but if you are dog crazy, you will understand.
We flew in from ATL on Sunday morning and stayed at the Marriott Renaissance on Times Square: a tiny lobby off Seventh Ave before the ascent up a floor to the actual lobby, standard Marriott bedrooms, massive breakfast room windows overlooking the fun and lights of Times Square, $40 breakfasts (figure out how to get it comped), and one of the friendliest and most helpful staffs I’ve encountered.
We were a group of four and Uber’d everywhere. My daughter who goes to NYC more frequently insists Uber is now better than taxis, and it worked well for us. Excellent dinner in Little Italy at Da Nico before our tickets to & Juliet. (It’s not Les Mis, but entertaining enough, especially if you remember the words to nineties music.)
The dog show events completely filled our Monday and Tuesday, but we fit in a dinner at John’s Pizzeria of Times Square on West 44th in an old converted church. Took an 8PM flight our of LaGuardia on Wednesday so we could spend the day at MOMA. That night was filled with storms along the east coast, and the flight was bumpy and fairly miserable, but the Delta flight crew did their best to ply us with water and snacks, though there was no hope of getting their carts into the aisles.
Next February’s Westminster will be their historic 150th, and I hope I’ll be there for it.