Costumed pups take over Huntington Beach for Fall Corgi Beach Day

Hundreds of corgis in costume took over a stretch of Huntington Beach for an early Halloween celebration during Fall Corgi Beach Day on Saturday.

The event features seminars for pet owners as well as fetch, limbo and costume competitions for pups. It’s one of many gatherings that allow fans of the chubby, pint-sized dog breed from all over Southern California to connect, event organizer and owner of So Cal Corgi Nation Dan McLemore said.

Ty Tamma of Los Angeles, dressed as the Disney character Lilo, holds Mochi while his partner adjusts the hood of the corgi’s Stitch costume at Fall Corgi Beach Day on Saturday.

(Eric Licas)

“We feel like we’re almost a hub for the community to get together and see friends they don’t see very often,” McLemore said. “It’s a great way to meet people and keep those connections going.”

Huntington Beach hosts Corgi Beach Day four times each year, and it began as a small gathering of about 20 friends almost 12 years ago, McLemore said. It has since grown to sometimes welcome over 1,000 attendees, and it gets bigger each year, he and longtime attendees like Keana Romines of Costa Mesa said.

A corgi digs through sand to retrieve a ball thrown by its owner during the Fetch Fanatic competition at Fall Corgi Beach Day in Huntington Beach Saturday.

(Eric Licas)

Romines used to come to the event with her grandmother as a child and said it’s the reason she decided to become a corgi owner. Romines named her 1-year-old pup Mr. Tadakichi after one of her favorite canine anime characters and dressed him as a lobster on Saturday.

Mr. Tadakichi was oblivious to the googly eyes on his head and the bright red fabric wrapped around him that afternoon. He was too busy sniffing the sand and other corgis playing dress-up on the beach.

A corgi whips around to retrieve a ball thrown by its owner during the Fetch Fanatic competition at Fall Corgi Beach Day in Huntington Beach Saturday.

(Eric Licas)

“He’s super distracted right now, so I just stuck, like, stuck it on him,” Romines said. “I don’t even think he realizes. There is just so much going on. But if I tried to put it on him any other day, no, he won’t have it.”

Over 60 pets entered this year’s costume contest, including 1-year-old Callister. He came dressed as a hot dog (affordably priced at $1.50), and was accompanied by his owners in bright red aprons, Christy Orgeta and Xander Ruiz of Upland. They’ve been playing dress-up with their pet since he was a puppy, and have been to five Corgi Beach Day events so far.

“Sometimes Corgi owners bring each other little gifts or knickknacks to share or trade,” Orgeta said. “Everybody is so supportive here.”

Harvey Hermosura, right, lifts Dumpling into the air while David Evans and Lilly cheer after winning first place in the costume competition at Fall Corgi Beach Day in Huntington Beach Saturday. The Torrance residents got the idea to dress their pets as piñatas just three days before the event, and were up until 3 a.m. the day of crafting their outfits.

(Eric Licas)

The winner of this year’s contest contest, Dumpling, Lilly and Sprout, came dressed as piñatas decked out in a rainbow of fabric and paper. Their owners, Harvey Hermosura and David Evans of Torrance, with Cypress resident Susan Cabral, came up with the idea days days ahead of the competition, and were rushing to put it all together just hours before the event started.

“We typically make costumes every season, but this time I was too busy,” Hermosura said. “Maybe three days ago we pulled it up on the internet, got the fabric, cut it up and were up until two in the morning making it. We weren’t expecting to win; it was a surprise.”

Christy Orgeta and Callister get ready to participate in the costume competition at Fall Corgi Beach Day in Huntington Beach Saturday.

(Eric Licas)