You can never go wrong with the combination of beaches and dogs. On July 25, over 800 Corgis and their owners dog-piled at Rosie’s Dog Beach in Long Beach to celebrate Southern California’s summer Corgi Beach Day, essentially a giant puppy party on the beach.

Starting with just 15 corgis in October 2012, the SoCal Corgi Nation organization has been setting up seasonal get-togethers and attendance has grown exponentially every season since then. This summer’s event, which began at 10 a.m., featured contests and activities for dog-lovers and their pups.

Free parking was hard to find, but certainly not impossible. The activities began around 10:30, and the event was open to corgi owners and corgi lovers alike. With that being said, no dog breed besides corgi was present.
Corgi Nation merchandises, such as T-shirts (for both owners and dogs), stickers, towels, and flags, were being sold for relatively high prices, with the tank tops ranging up to $35.

A kissing booth was set up, allowing attendees to pose and take pictures with Instagram-famous corgis, such as Winston the White Corgi (@winstonthewhitecorgi) and Sneakers (@sneakersthecorgi), for only $1. This booth gave attendees the experience of meeting a famous celebrity, and the dogs were even cuter in person. On top of that, all of the revenue went to Queen’s Best Stumpy Dog Rescue, benefitting homeless corgis. The line for photos was tremendously long, but both the dogs and attendees seemed to be enjoying themselves while posing for the camera.
The day included contests, such as “Best Butt” and “Best Costume,” reeling in several “awws” from the crowd. Pups from all over SoCal dressed up as dragons, fairies, and in many other adorable costumes. This part of the event seemed a bit disorganized, because there were so many people on a fairly small part of the beach, and the area became more cramped as people made room for an open dog runway. No one seemed to complain, however, as the decked-up dogs strutted past.

By 12:30 p.m., the limbo contest had begun. The owners all took a group photo shortly after, and it was evident that the day was joyful for most attendees.

SoCal Corgi Beach Day is the perfect summer activity for those looking to let loose and spend time meeting cute corgis and their fun-loving owners. The next Corgi Beach Day will take place on October 24.