Hundreds of corgis and their honorary stand-ins will take over the sand near the Huntington Beach Pier on Saturday, Oct. 24, for the fall edition of SoCal Corgi Beach Day, a free, public event running from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. that mixes Halloween costumes, pet contests and, for the first time, a beer garden for the humans tagging along.
The gathering takes place at Huntington City Beach, two blocks south of the pier, according to socalcorgibeachday.com. Admission is free and open to anyone, corgi owner or not — as petage.com puts it, “The free, public event welcomes all dogs and people, with or without a corgi.” NBC Los Angeles reports that the day draws hundreds of corgis and honorary corgis to the shoreline, alongside costume contests and photo setups.
Halloween Theme Brings Pumpkins, Contests and a Chomp-Off
This fall's theme leans fully into Howl-O-Ween, with what the event's site describes as tons of fall- and Halloween-themed photo stops and installations scattered across the sand. Costume contests, Corgi Limbo and a Best Corgi Butt showdown round out the games, alongside a Pumpkin Pie Chomp eating contest, according to the same petage.com report.
Dog-training demonstrations are also on the schedule, with live sessions led by Susan from Queens' Best Stumpy Dog Rescue, organizers say on the event's website. The programming has broadened in recent years beyond pure contests, with petage.com describing a rescue and education station built around those same live training demos.
New This Year: A Beer Garden on the Sand
For the first time in the event's run, organizers are adding a beer garden, featuring Beachwood Brewing for the humans and specialty drinks for the dogs courtesy of Brutus Broth, per petage.com's reporting. The event's own site frames it plainly: “FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, CORGI BEACH DAY IS GETTING A BEER GARDEN.”
Beyond the drinks, the day's marketplace has grown substantially. More than 45 pet-centric vendors are expected to set up alongside more than 10 food trucks, according to petage.com, offering giveaways and samples in addition to food. All dogs, regardless of breed, are welcome and become honorary corgis for the day, the event's website notes.
From 15 Dogs to a Recurring Beach Tradition
SoCal Corgi Beach Day has come a long way from its humble start. The gathering first began in the fall of 2012 with just 15 dog attendees, according to surfcityusa.com, which now promotes it as an event that welcomes more than 1,200 corgis and over 15,000 pet lovers. It has since grown into a recurring spring and fall attraction, with a springtime version also drawing crowds to the same stretch of sand.
Last fall's edition, held Oct. 25, 2025, was likewise free and open to the public and advertised thousands of corgis and honorary corgis taking over the beach, per the Queens' Best Stumpy Dog Rescue calendar listing. This year's spring gathering carried a Tiki Beach Pawty theme with celebrity corgi meet-and-greets, as described by kidsguidemagazine.com, though sources differ on its exact date — one listing cites April 4, 2026, while another promotional post lists April 5.
Visitors driving to Saturday's event can expect beach parking at Huntington Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway or Beach Boulevard and PCH, advertised at $20 per vehicle for the day, according to surfcityusa.com.
