Corrales opens 2026 Pet Mayor race to benefit animal services

Corrales has opened its 2026 Pet Mayor race, and the real prize is not the title alone but the money it sends to Corrales Animal Services. Entries are open through July 15, and pets do not have to live in Corrales to participate, giving owners across the area a chance to enter the village’s most playful fundraiser.

Apple, the current Pet Mayor, is already urging nominations for animals of all kinds, from dogs to goats, llamas, hedgehogs and horses. That broad invitation is part of what has made the contest stick. In a village where civic identity often shows up through small, highly local traditions, the Pet Mayor race gives residents a low-barrier way to take part, support a no-kill animal welfare organization and keep the town’s personality on display.

The race is tied to the Corrales Harvest Festival, scheduled for Sept. 26-27, 2026, and organized by the Kiwanis Club of Corrales Foundation. Festival materials say the event began in 1985 with hayrides and has been held continuously since then, growing from about 800 visitors to more than 10,000. The Pet Mayor winner is announced at the Harvest Festival Pet Parade, making the campaign part of a larger community ritual rather than a stand-alone stunt.

That mix of pageantry and purpose was evident in 2025, when Apple the mini pig won the election after a close finish against Riley and the rest of a 13-candidate field. Only $31 separated Apple and Riley in the final tally, and the contest raised $7,000 for Corrales Animal Services, topping a $5,000 goal and more than doubling the roughly $3,000 brought in the year before. In 2024, Chico Suave the miniature horse won the title, showing how the race has become a recurring local draw rather than a one-off novelty.

Voting in 2025 cost $1 per in-person ballot and had a $2 minimum for online votes, with unlimited voting allowed. Corrales Mayor Jim Fahey swore in Apple at the Harvest Festival Pet Parade, and The Village Mercantile donated prizes for all candidates. Apple has been presented by supporters as an advocate for misunderstood pets, good nutrition, education and community gardens, a lighthearted role that still carries a public-service message.

For Corrales, the Pet Mayor race is more than a bit of civic theater. It is a seasonal fundraiser that turns neighborhood pride into direct support for animals in need, and it has become one of the village’s most recognizable community traditions.