A corgi walks into a bar. Summer is just beginning and he’s finally off contract, so he decides to celebrate with a drink. The bartender, seeing him waddle in, leans over the bar and looks down at the dog.
“What’ll it be, champ?”
The corgi wags his little nub tail and says, “I’ll take a glass of the good stuff.”
“Comin’ right up,” replies the bartender.
He makes the dog’s drink and rings up his order.
“That’ll be $5.42, my man.”
The corgi reaches for his wallet and counts his change. Realising he only has $5.25, he looks up at the bartender and says,
“I’m so sorry sir, I’m a little short.”
We all love a good laugh, but in the great city of Chattanooga, corgis are no joke. Chattanooga is home to many fun and exciting events, but none is more heart melting than the St. Elmo Corgi Parade. Yes, you read that right. A Corgi Parade—and it’s exactly what it sounds like. On the first of October, corgis roamed St. Elmo Avenue near the Incline Railway and Plus Coffee, with an official corgi count totaling 63 little dogs, according to the event’s Facebook page.
The first Corgi Parade took place in 1999 as a part of the “September in St. Elmo” festival. Bob Wright was on the festival’s committee that year and started the event. He had 4 corgis at the time. After the festival stopped in 2005, the parade stopped with it, until it was resurrected in 2013 with some help from National Night Out, Community Association of Historic St. Elmo, and Bob Wright himself. Ever since then, the parade continues to live on. Every year on the first Tuesday of October, you can expect to see little corgis sauntering through the St. Elmo streets.
The parade is much more than little dogs walking around. Corgis often show up dressed in costume for the event, and awards are handed out to contestants who qualify for shortest corgi, longest corgi, best corgi face, and more. King and Queen corgis are crowned before the parade begins and then get the honor of leading the crowd of corgis down the street.
“Lots of businesses and groups had booths set up with food and trinkets to support their business,” said Laura Workman ’20. This was Workman’s first year attending the parade, and she was impressed, calling it a “wonderland of pure joy and sweetness.”
Workman said that the parade had never been of much interest to her before, but because the parade fell on her birthday, she decided it was the perfect way to celebrate. “There was even a tent with a pen of dogs up for adoption,” said Workman. The parade has it all.
Corgis were originally bred to herd cattle and other farm animals, as their short stature makes them great ankle nippers. But now, they are becoming increasingly popular as pets. According to the American Kennel Club, the little animals ranked 24th in 2008 for America’s Most Popular Breed. In 2018, they rose to 13th, and are predicted to keep climbing. This means that the St. Elmo Corgi Parade will probably only grow in popularity.
“Chattanooga is good about finding ways to bring its community together,” says Workman, “and corgis parading down the street dressed as lions and princesses and circus ringleaders seem to do the trick.” Workman, along with mentioning that because of the parade she is open to corgi adoption, said that although this was her first parade, she hopes it will not be her last. See you all at the 2020 Corgi Parade on October 6th.