Hundreds of corgis dressed in elf vests and other festive gear are expected to trot down East Second Street on Saturday, Dec. 5, when the So Cal Corgi Nation Christmas Parade returns as part of Long Beach's Belmont Shore Christmas Parade. The short-legged spectacle is a crowd favorite every holiday season, and organizers say sign-ups for human-and-corgi teams are already live.
According to NBC Los Angeles, hundreds of corgis are expected to sassily strut through the streets as part of the larger Belmont Shore event. The sign-up information is live on the Corgi Nation site, and the station notes that parade flags and spots tend to sell out quickly, so interested marchers shouldn't wait too long to claim a spot.
Per So Cal Corgi Nation, the parade marks a tradition the group says it has carried on since 2013, and this year's theme is “Light Up the Night.” The organizer is clear about the rules: every human in the parade must have their own flag to march, distributed by the group itself, and every marching family or group must be accompanied by an actual corgi.
Flags, Fur and Festive Attire
Humans aren't the only ones with a dress code. The station's report says corgis are expected to wear seasonal accessories such as elf vests, so organizers are encouraging owners to make sure their dog is rocking some kind of holiday look before stepping off. The group's event page echoes a similar scene from its 2018 Christmas parade listing, which anticipated hundreds of corgis dressed in their most festive gear — suggesting the tradition of costumed corgis marching through Belmont Shore isn't new.
The Belmont Shore Christmas Parade itself, now in its 42nd year, is scheduled to run from 6 to 9 p.m. on Dec. 5, according to Belmont Shore's event page. The route runs along East Second Street, heading east from Quincy Avenue to Bayshore Avenue, and the event is free to attend and open to all ages — no ticket or RSVP required. Spectators can watch the corgi contingent and the rest of the parade pass by anywhere along that stretch.
Beyond Long Beach: A National Corgi Moment
The Long Beach parade comes on the heels of a different corgi moment that grabbed national attention. A corgi named Quinn ran across the football field following a halftime corgi race at the Nov. 8 Panthers vs. Broncos game in Charlotte, North Carolina, leading to what NBC Los Angeles described as a chase after the dash across the turf. The station reported that Quinn attracted tens of thousands of people, or possibly more, turning a halftime stunt into a viral moment.
Back in Long Beach, the holiday corgi calendar keeps going past the Dec. 5 parade. A Corgi Christmas Party is set for Dec. 19, though organizers say details will be revealed soon. Looking further ahead, the Corgi Winter Nationals are scheduled to run Feb. 13, 2027, and the station notes that the group's famous Corgi Beach Day is likely to return sometime around the middle of springtime, with Corgi Nation advising fans to keep watching its website for details as they're announced.
For now, the focus is on Dec. 5, when Belmont Shore's sidewalks will fill with spectators watching a parade that, true to form, lets the dogs lead the way.
