What a Club we have!! Our second commemorative event for the 20th anniversary of the Club was the Club’s annual Christmas walk held on the Southport Spit. In 2012 the Club had 77 Beagles attend the walk, which was a great achievement. As a result, the Club went about promoting “Target 100”. This was to see if we could get 100 Beagles to our Christmas walk.
The day before the walk was a very wet and rainy day in Brisbane and we were all looking to the skies in hope that we wouldn’t be having the downpours that we had the day before. Our hopes were that the weather would improve for the Sunday walk on the 1st of December. Luckily the day arose with cloudless skies. It was on. Bring out your Beagles!!
Just to prove that God loves a Beagle, the morning of the walk began with a cloudless sky and the Beagles were out in force. We had some fabulous workers who came out early to help set up the shades and tables before everyone arrived. A big thanks goes to all those that helped out with the setting up of the area across the road from the beach. It looked fabulous.
As the morning went on, we had a few Beagles beginning to turn up. To keep track of the number of Beagles, people were given a raffle ticket for each Beagle they had there on the day. This was to help us know how many Beagles were there (a head count just wasn’t going to work) and also doubled as the entry in the lucky walk prize at the end of the walk .
The walk was set to commence at 9:00am. By 8:00am, we had given out about 30 tickets. Thirty Beagles so far – not bad. There were a few trickles of Beagles coming in for the next twenty minutes or so. The numbers were looking good but it wasn’t looking like we would reach the target of 100 Beagles. 8:30 came. We had about 50 Beagles. 8:40 came – 75 Beagles. Then all of a sudden, the cars descended on the car park. 80 Beagles; 90 Beagles! By about 8:45, we had it – 100 Beagles!!
And they kept on coming! Beagles everywhere – all behaving as well as they could, all having a fabulous time. As 9 o’clock neared, we were well into our second book of 100 raffle tickets. By the time the scheduled walk time had arrived, we had 150 Beagles. When we count a few late comers, the total count of Beagles that came along for the walk was 159! This was an overwhelming attendance – far beyond what the Club had hoped for and an amazing spectacle for anyone on the beach that day.
We made our way down to the beach for our regular group photo. But this was not your typical photo. It called for a wide angle lens, layering of people and their Beagles up the dunes and for lots of bunching together. The photos we took were amazing. Certainly not a sight you would see every day.
The walk itself was again your typical enjoyable leisurely walk down the Spit. It’s a beautiful beach without the pack. With over 150 Beagles on it, it’s spectacular. The beach on the Gold Coast is often referred to as 90 Mile Beagle but on the 1st of December 2013, it would be known as 150 Beagle beach.
Our walks at the Spit often coincide with the Great Dane Club’s monthly walk on the Spit. What a sight it must have been for them to see this pack of Beagles descending on them as they headed north at the end of their walk.
As we walked south towards Main Beach, we came across a couple of Dalmatians. 101 Dalmatians – that has nothing on 159 Beagles.
After the thoroughly enjoyable walk, with a good rest in the middle, we returned to the Beagle tent city that had been erected for our Christmas party. We have our Santa giving out presents and treats to all the good Beagles (we did find a few) and to have their photo taken. Luckily we anticipated have a good turnout, so employed two Santas this year, which we needed. Thanks go to our Santas, Chris and Ken.
It was also very warming to see a lot of rescue Beagles come along for the day. It shows how loved they are in their forever homes.
As morning tea came out, we had a wonderful surprise of a beautiful Beagle cake that had been made for the special occasion. It was wonderful to see and judging from the time it took to be devoured – was delicious.
The lucky walk was then drawn. Congratulations to the Ashleigh and Tally being winner of our lucky draw prize on the day.
The Christmas hampers were drawn. Congratulations to all the hamper winners and to Robyn and Colleen for their wonderful presentation and organising of the hampers.
Our December 2013 beach walk and Christmas party was a day that went beyond what any of us would have imagined. Many of those whom attended the walk were not members and had learned about the walk from Facebook, the Club’s web page, or from talking to others with Beagles that they may have met on a leisurely walk or at a local dog park. This walk was a major promotion for the breed, not to mention lots of fun for everyone that attended.
The support we have in this Club is amazing. Thank you to everyone that attended the day, who contributed in any way, who brought food along and who made the day so enjoyable. It was a day we will remember for a very long time and one that brought the 20th anniversary year of the Club to a wonderful end.
2014 – Target 200?? Do we dare??