Eight hundred corgis frolicking on a beach? It sounds like an unlikely dream, but on Saturday, October 22nd, corgis from all over Corgifornia gathered in Ocean Beach, San Francisco, to attend an event called Corgi Con. Corgi Con is a fun, local event where 800 cuddly corgis meet up for an adorable day of Corgi-tivities. Corgi Con is a biannual event, occurring only once in June and once in October.

Corgi Con was created in 2013 by Cynthia Lee, who began to regularly host small corgi gatherings with only a few dogs. When the turnouts became so large that they took over an entire beach, she said, “This is the perfect excuse to come to the beach. The event exceeded our expectations and clearly there is big love for these corgis.” However, not everyone who attends this event owns a corgi, to which she commented, “You don’t have to have a corgi to come out, you just have to have a love of corgis.” Corgi Con, which is steadily increasing in popularity, now manages to attract hundreds of corgi enthusiasts each time.

A wide variety of adorable events are offered to corgis and their owners who wish to participate in the event, including a corgi race in the sand, raffles, a giant group photo, and a costume contest. Most of the costumes tend to center around the current theme of the event, which happened to be Pokemon this time. However, there were still corgis that dressed up as food, celebrities, or other animals – the ice cream, totoro, hot dog, and lobster corgis were particularly cute. The costumed corgis proved to be very popular with fans, who loved stopping to take pictures with them. The event even provided areas and props to take pictures in front of, including a cardboard cutout of the world’s most famous corgi owner, Queen Elizabeth II – making every picture even more social media worthy.

Not only is Corgi Con a great place for corgis to have fun in the sun, it also raises money and awareness for two animal rescue organizations, Corgi Aid and Queen’s Best Stumpy Dog Rescue. All proceeds from the event (the donations and profits from selling merchandise) go towards a good cause, providing aid and homes to less fortunate corgis. If you are so overwhelmed by the cuteness and decide that you want a dog, there are also tents where you can adopt pups that are looking for a new home.

When asked about attending Corgi Con, freshman Olivia Towns answered, “It was lit. I went around noon, so the weather was a nice combination of sunny and windy, and the beach scenery was really pretty.” About the costume contest, Towns stated, “All the dogs were dressed in different cute costumes. The events weren’t just limited to corgis, but other breeds too, which I found pretty cool.” She added, “It was sweet to see the whole city brought together over the love of corgis.”

Overall, this year’s Fall Corgi Con 2k16 was a huge success. Corgis from all over the country came to join the four-hour beach party, resulting in lots of new friendships. Anyone who is looking to gain some happiness in their life, should consider attending the next Corgi Con in June 2017.