Fort Collins’ streets were flooded Oct. 3 with corgis dressed as aliens and space symbols for this year’s Tour de Corgi theme: “Sploots in Space.”
Civic Center Park filled up fast at 9 a.m. Saturday, officially kicking off the event with meet-ups and vendor booths. An hour later, a costume contest featuring a variety of categories began. The crowd’s costumes drew inspiration from movies such as “Space Jam” and “Star Wars,” as well as aliens, tin-foil-hat conspiracy theorists and more.
“It just makes … Fort Collins a place you want to live,” costume contest host David Austin-Gröen said. “Because they have ridiculous stuff like this, but it’s not ridiculous — people love it. The only bad thing about what I’m doing is I can’t pet all the dogs because I’m busy introducing all of them.”
Austin-Gröen said the 1,500 person crowd was the third-largest annual corgi-specific event in the country.
After the contest concluded, the Tour de Corgi parade began and went up College Avenue to Old Town before returning to Civic Center Park. Despite the busy Colorado State University Homecoming & Family Weekend crowds, the corgis were the center of attention.
“It’s funny seeing all the corgis in their costumes,” corgi owner Madison Moore said. “Corgis have very specific attitudes, so it’s just funny seeing all the other dogs of his personality.”
Tour de Corgi, which just celebrated its 12th anniversary, brings a pop of color to the streets of Fort Collins and gives pets the chance to socialize.
“I think (my corgi) has a good time, and he loves to kind of get out and do things,” said Mikayla Florian, a six-time Tour de Corgi participant.
However, Tour de Corgi is more than a massive corgi meet-up. Dozens of vendors set up booths to sell goods, offer services and educate attendees on a variety different topics. One such group was the nonprofit Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, which focuses on education, research and stewardship for birds and their habitats in the Rocky Mountain region.
“It’s definitely good publicity for us,” said Emily Doorack, an environmental educator at the conservancy. “We really get a lot of interest and excitement, especially with kids. It’s great for kids.”
The event also gave shelters and nonprofits an opportunity to spread the word about their causes and receive donations. Organizations such as 4 Paws Pet Pantry, Colorado Corgis and Friends Rescue, Bandits K9Care and Animal Friends Alliance all offered opportunities to donate, learn and interact. Animals Friends Alliance in particular had an area where attendees could meet and hang out with puppies from their shelter.
Another shelter in attendance, All Aboard Animal Rescue, works to reduce nationwide euthanasia rates, rescuing dogs from New Mexico, Texas and Colorado. The shelter then hosts adoption events to give the pets a new forever home, giving people opportunities to foster, adopt and get involved in their community.
“We handed out goody bags,” said Madison Gartside, rescue director for All Aboard. “We get a lot of people that are interested in volunteering. We’ve had a couple of adoptions, so yeah, (Tour de Corgi had) great impact for us. It also helps local vendors kind of get out there and show what they got.”
All proceeds from Tour de Corgi directly support local pet charities.
“The community demands it,” Tour de Corgi committee member Charis Willyerd said when asked what keeps the festival coming back. “I just need joy in my life with, like, all that’s going on in the world, you know, and this provides joy.”
Reach Jack Ryan at life@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
