The renowned Budweiser Clydesdales met large crowds of fans as the horses paraded through the streets of downtown Auburn and delivered beer Thursday night.
The horses’ handlers unloaded the Clydesdales off of 50-foot tractor-trailers at 4 p.m. in front of Skybar Cafe on Magnolia Avenue.
After hitching the eight-horse team to the beer wagon, the drivers paraded the Clydesdales around the block moving along Magnolia Avenue to Gay Street, turning north on Gay Street to Tichenor Avenue, turning west on Tichenor Avenue to College Street and finally making a left at College Street and driving back to Magnolia Avenue.
The wagon, with Mayor Bill Ham riding along, stopped multiple times to make beer deliveries to 17 local restaurants and bars including Moe’s Original BBQ, Quixotes and The Hound. After delivering beer the first time around the block, the handlers drove the Clydesdales around the block a second time.
The Budweiser Dalmatian accompanied Ham and the team, riding with the drivers in the wagon seat and lounging on top of the beer cases.
Local beer wholesaler Adams Beverages originally requested the Clydesdales’ appearance to celebrate the company’s new warehouse, says their Marketing Director, Lauren Carmack.
“We put in a request about a year ago to have them here for our grand opening and we got ok’d,” Carmack said.
The Clydesdale team arrived in Auburn on Monday. The horses have been housed at the Auburn University Veterinary School this week.
The Clydesdales made a public appearance in downtown Opelika as well on Wednesday.
Jessica Kohn, Auburn’s downtown coordinator, said a week ago that she anticipated a large turnout for the event. Her expectations proved true as people lined the streets around the entire block, crowding around the horses and taking photos with them whenever they halted.
“When Lauren told me they were coming … I said, 'Absolutely, we one hundred percent want them in downtown Auburn,'” Kohn said.
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