The Corgi Beach Takeover will bring hundreds of popular short-legged fur balls to the beach in Seaside on the month’s last Saturday.

Organized by the Portland Corgi Meetup Group, “the giddiest gathering of loafy Corgis imaginable” raises funds for the Oregon Humane Society. 

Last year, when more than 900 corgis showed up, the Takeover raised just over $30,000 for the animal welfare nonprofit, from ticket and merchandise sales, a silent auction and a raffle.

The beach takeover was inspired by a similar event in Southern California. At the inaugural event in the early 2010s, said Jennifer Robinson, the group’s coordinator, some 30 corgis turned out at Cannon Beach. The event more than doubled the following year and the group then partnered with the Oregon Humane Society to formalize it into an annual fundraiser. After it outgrew Cannon Beach, three years ago the takeover moved to Seaside without a break in its traditions.

As every year, on June 28 there will be a costume contest. This year’s theme: Corgi Avengers. Another popular activity, Corgi races, where “speediest stumps win,” will see a record 192 pooches compete in three brackets.

“If you have never seen a dog with legs that are three inches long race, it is the most entertaining thing you can imagine,” Robinson said. “Some corgis just want to herd” — the breed originated in Wales as a herding dog — “and other corgis really just want to run. And so it’s quite entertaining, because they don’t always necessarily go the way that you would expect them to. They sometimes will chase each other, sometimes they’ll run off into the crowd… ”

Portlander Stephanie Eklund has been to three Beach Takeovers with her now-7-year old Corgi named Nigel. “The Corgi races are just the cutest thing in the whole wide world,” she said. Nigel participated in one race, but “he got distracted and ran the other direction.”

It is the Corgis’ proclivity to do well in large groups that makes them special, Robinson said of the breed popularized by the late Queen Elizabeth II, who had dozens of Corgis. Even with thousands of dogs present, there are no issues, Robinson added. “To be able to have that many in one place speaks a lot to the breed’s temperament.”

For Eklund, it’s about Nigel’s personality, the “cute little legs and wiggle butt,” and the joy. “These dogs are like little celebrities,” she said. “When you have one as you’re walking down the street, people’s faces just light up. I’ll be in a bad mood, I’ll walk my dog, and somebody will go, ‘Oh my god, a Corgi,’ and it just lifts my spirits.”

It speaks to the Corgi owners’ temperament as well, hinted Robinson. “I have not run into other Corgi owners that were rude, everybody is very friendly and nice,” she said. It’s similar to bikers or owners of certain car makes who greet each other on the road.

Founded in 2007, the group gets together several times per month in parks around the metropolitan area to let dogs play together. An occasional outing takes them to colleges or markets for guest appearances.

Organizers advise to pre-register but registration will be available on site as well; the event runs from 10 to 4. For Eklund, the Takeover is “a really good community experience. Seeing the dogs interact together, and realizing, you know, my dog, he’s just a regular Corgi. It’s just super fun. It’s really positive.”

All dogs are welcome at the takeover. About 300 canines of a non-Corgi persuasion showed up last year, according to Robinson, proclaiming (through their owners), “today, I identify as a Corgi.”

 

Corgis on the beach

Seaside, June 28

10 a.m. Silent auction opens

11 a.m. Costume contest. 

12:30 p.m. Corgi races. Open to registered attendees only. Race spots are limited; sign up in advance at the OHS Tent.

2 p.m. Raffle drawing

2:30 p.m. Silent auction closes

4 p.m. Event ends

Information and registration, https://www.oregonhumane.org/corgi-beach-takeover/