The Central California town of Pismo Beach will transform into corgi heaven next month when hundreds of Pembroke and Cardigan Welsh corgis arrive for the second annual Pismo Beach Corgi Nation Vacation. The three-day "pawty" organized by So Cal Corgi Nation and the Pismo Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau runs Sept. 12-14.
Naturally, "barktails" and "corg d'ouevres" will be served.
"Basically, we take over Pismo with corgis all weekend long," said Kelly McLemore, co-founder of So Cal Corgi Nation.
Pismo Beach Corgi Nation Vacation will draw 200 VIP ticket holders with their corgis and "honorary corgis" to special events like the Friday night tiki luau at the oceanfront lawn of Vespera Resort—with a Hawaiian flower lei to greet each corgi.
Saturday kicks off with a free, public beach party expected to draw over 1,000 people and a cavalcade of corgis competing in running races, costume contests and even a "Cutest Cardigan" competition.
"It's just a fun day at the beach with your dog and your family and your friends and music. It's a festival on the beach," she said. "It's so cool to see people connect. People really feel like they're part of something and they can share it with their dog."
The VIPs will gather for a Saturday night of wine tastings with gourmet pizza for people and "corg'cuterie" for the dogs—dog-friendly fare like bananas, chicken and hard-boiled eggs—at the SeaCrest OceanFront Hotel. "Barktails" with bone broth will complement the corgi cuisine along with music and frivolity.
"Last year, everybody said it felt like a wedding reception, but with corgis," McLemore said with a laugh.
A Sunday brunch caps the weekend festivities, which McLemore said aim to bring happiness to people and their beloved breed.
McLemore and her husband, Dan McLemore—the emcee of the weekend's events—will attend the Pismo Beach Corgi Nation Vacation with their 10-year-old corgi, Chappy. The couple co-founded So Cal Corgi Nation in 2012, after the online corgi community rallied behind their corgi, Mr. Pickles, a "Frisbee dog" who got injured and needed surgeries.
"Mr. Pickles loved the beach," she said. "By the time he healed, there were corgis on Facebook that we knew so we thought, 'Let's do a little get together and meet.'"
An impromptu invite on the social media platform led to about 15 corgis and their people gathering at Huntington Beach in Southern California.
"Then we did it again three months later, and we had about a hundred people show up," she said. "We just kept doing it about every three months, and it just kept multiplying like crazy."
Now Corgi Beach Day at Huntington Beach draws over 13,000 people and thousands of corgis from California as well as other states and even Europe, according to McLemore. (The next Corgi Beach Day takes place Oct. 25.)
"It's really grown to be this huge cult-like corgi following of people. It's a really great community," she said. "Everybody's very, very committed. They love their dogs just like all dog people. But corgi people are so special; it's a really unique group of people."
To wit: the corgi craze has gone international. This weekend, over 100 corgis will descend on the capital of Lithuania for Corgi Race Vilnius, which features a 50-meter dash in a stadium that seats up to 6,000 spectators, as well as a "Mightiest Voice" (aka bark) competition and costume contest, among other amusements.
Corgis inspire worldwide devotion because they're so smart, active and cute, according to McLemore.
"They just always look like they're smiling," she said. "I think they're the cutest dogs, and they are really great family dogs too. They're just great companions. I always love them because they seem like big dogs in little bodies."
The Pismo Beach Corgi Nation Vacation is smaller and feels more intimate than the gigantic beach parties at Huntington Beach, according to McLemore. Plus, the setting is stellar and the event takes place after summer heatwaves.
"The town is super pet friendly. It's in Central California, so the weather's perfect this time of year. It's a small town and still has old beach town vibes. They have a Main Street with historical shops. There's a pier and beautiful cliffs," she said. "It's just very pretty. You feel very relaxed when you're there. It's just a nice, laidback California beach town. There are tons of wineries there too. I love it there."
Ultimately, McLemore hopes the weekend brings joy and connection to everyone who attends. She's grateful that the So Cal Corgi Nation community has grown so exponentially thanks to Mr. Pickles, who died in 2022 at 15 ½ years old but whose legacy lives on.
"He was the dog that started it all," she said. "He has a lot of people who still remember him, so he's got a legacy. He's still a legend."