Words and photos by Devynne Honsa Contributor
If you have ever dreamt of being surrounded by over 1,000 corgis, look no further than Huntington Beach.
So Cal Corgi Beach Day, the world-famous event that gives the dogs, their owners and other corgi lovers a chance to celebrate the breed was held on Saturday, Oct. 28, at the Huntington Dog Beach.
The free event occurs three times a year and is hosted by So Cal Corgi Nation, a group of self-proclaimed “corgi-enthusiasts” who founded the event five years ago. It is led by Mr. Pickles, the corgi who started it all. The fifth anniversary of the festivities did not disappoint, featuring food trucks, corgi-centric vendors, Instagram celebrity corgi meet and greets, a corgi temporary tattoo station and a corgi kissing booth. Hundreds of people and their low-riding furry friends came together to celebrate.
Kaho and Jailinne, students from Long Beach State, attended the event for the second time on Saturday.
“This year we got to meet Tofu the corgi, and he was so adorable!” Jailinne said. “He was having a meet and greet. We got to meet an Instagram-famous corgi, so it was pretty cool.”
This fall, Corgi Day had all of the essentials for the perfect PAW-ty: a talent contest, a limbo contest, two costume contests, a ‘pupkin pie’ eating contest, and the crowd-favorite best Momo (better known as Corgi Butt) contest.
At noon, the “Best Corgi” costume contest featured over 30 corgis dressed up as everything from a dragon to Kim Kardashian. Next was the “Best Duo” category, which involved group costumes typically with more elaborate props, as owners dressed up alongside their dogs. The corgis Barley and Bubbles were the winners of the Best Duo contest and came dressed as lobsters with their humans dressed as chefs.
“This is our third Corgi Beach Day, but the first time we’ve entered the costume contest,” said Elizabeth, owner of Barley and Bubbles. “We started thinking of ideas like a month ahead, and we bought the materials and made them a full week before. It was kind of a whole deal. For us, it meant staying up until 3 a.m. and working on them all week.”
The event closed with the traditional “Bubble Pavilion,” in which all the corgis gather to run around in thousands of bacon and chicken flavored bubbles.
If you missed this Corgi Beach Day, don’t fret! So Cal Corgi Nation is hosting the next Spring Corgi Beach Day on Saturday, April 7, 2018 in Huntington Beach.
