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Budweiser Clydesdales arrive in BR ahead of Saturday's Wearin' of the Green parade
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BATON ROUGE - We're counting down the days to the big Wearin' of the Green Parade! In the sea of green, many floats will be on the route, but one crowd favorite is returning to help lead the parade.
The Budweiser Clydesdales made their way to Baton Rouge Monday night, ready to trot in Saturday's St. Patrick's Day parade.
They'll be pulling the famous red wagon where you'll see this year's Grand Marshal, Timothy Mockler with Mockler Beverage, and the Clydesdales' best buds, the dalmatians.
The Clydesdales first came to America in the 1800s but started their tours in 1933. These horses have a pretty busy schedule. They travel ten or eleven months out of the year, so for them to make a stop here in Baton Rouge for the city's biggest parade makes it that much more special.
"The Clydesdales are special everywhere they go and we're fortunate enough to get them to come to Baton Rouge," said Timothy Mockler. "There's three teams that travel, so to get them here with all the other big cities in the country that have St. Patrick's day parades is a big honor."
The Mocklers have been involved with this parade since the start back in the 80s. Their very own krewe was created in 1987 when Pat Shingleton, TJ Moran, and Gary Mockler met over a round of margaritas and helped set the foundation of Baton Rouge's biggest parade.
"We've been involved with it as long as we've been here in Baton Rouge," Mockler said. "It was when Pat Shingleton and TJ Moran met with my dad and was involved in that. So it was automatic for us, and we're very Irish so that was easy."
Gary Mockler, Timothy's father, was Grand Marshal in 2003, then his brother Patrick took the mantle in 2018.
This year, the torch is passed on to Timothy Mockler, leading the Wearin' of the Green parade this year as Grand Marshal.
"I didn't know what to say to [Pat Shingleton]," Mockler said of when Shingleton asked him to be the Grand Marshal. "My father did it 20 years ago and I'm very honored to be asked to do that. It's a very big honor to do."
Aside from the Clydesdales, this year's parade will have the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, the Planters NUTmobile, and nearly 100 other floats.
The parade starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Can't make it? Don't worry—WBRZ will be broadcasting the parade live starting at 9:30 a.m..
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