With Corgis and Costumes, Corgi Con Returns To Ocean Beach

With Corgis and Costumes, Corgi Con Returns To Ocean BeachPhoto: NorCal Corgi Con
Fiona Lee
Published on June 13, 2017

This Saturday, expect corgimonium: NorCal CorgiCon is bringing hundreds of the stumpy-legged dogs and their human friends to Ocean Beach (between Stairwell 21 and Fulton St., across from Beach Chalet). 

The wildly popular event, which happens twice a year in June and October, has corgis running races and dressed up in their finest for a costume contest. This time, corgi lovers can also expect new additions to the Corgi Con program, including an agility contest, vendors offering corgi and dog-related goods, and an attempt to spell out the word "corgi" for the group photo at Ocean Beach. 

"We decided to mix it up a bit," explained Cynthia Lee, the founder and a member of the Execucorg team behind Corgicon. "Those two, the costume contest and the race, had been our staples." 

The NorCal Corgi Con started back in 2013 as an informal gathering of dog lovers and their perpetually cheerful dogs. Now, it's ballooned to include over 800 corgis, with people flying in from all over the United States and beyond to attend. Lee told us that some attendees from Hong Kong and Japan were even planning their vacations around Corgi Con.

ExecuCorg team. | Photo: NorCal Corgi Con

Another new addition, an ice cream social with Smitten Ice Cream last month, also brought out hundreds of happy dogs and their fans. Many who attended, noted Lee, weren't able to make it out to Corgi Con this Saturday, but that didn't stop corgi lovers from lining up around the block for a double hit of ice cream and corgi-inspired happiness. 

"Everyone is very connected," she said of the corgi owner community. "The group is very welcoming as breed owners. Everyone wants to share information." 

Photo: Rick Marr/Hoodline

Driven by Instagram, the breed has seen an explosion in popularity over the last few years. In our interview with her last year, Lee—who has two corgis, Maki Boo and Bubba Bruster (both with their own Instagram accounts)—noted that many corgi owners only know each other from Instagram.

Corgi Con offers a way for owners to connect with each other in person. And beyond convening the dogs and letting them frap around on Ocean Beach—frap means "frantic random acts of play"—Corgi Con also raises funds for two rescue organizations, Queen's Best Stumpy Dog Rescue and CorgiAid

Even non-corgi owners love the dogs. "The internet loves them because they're funny-looking," Lee said when we asked her why they were so popular. "They’re always happy, and they don’t think they are small dogs."

"People see them and they melt, and they’re so happy," she continued. "My biggest joy of this organization is just seeing how happy people are."