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Photography by AP Photo/Purina, Whitney Curtis
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Photography by AP Photo/Purina, Whitney Curtis
Here in the French-settled city of St. Louis, we take Mardi Gras seriously. Even our mutts throw down for one last gasp before Lenten austerity kicks in. To that end, the 22nd Annual Beggin’ Pet Parade will take over Soulard this Sunday.
The event's been a big deal for decades. It holds a Guinness World Record for “Most Dogs in Costumed Attire.” This year, the grand marshal is none other than the Cardinals' former skipper, Baseball Hall of Famer (and animal-rescuing vegetarian) Tony La Russa.
After all of the beads have been thrown and the winners are chosen, take in a free show from '90s jam-band phenom Blues Traveler. The family-friendly event also features a wiener-dog derby, which promises to be a hilarious maelstrom of scuttling little dachshund legs. Try your paw at bacon-themed games, and say cheese in a bacon-themed photo booth.
But it’s not all fun and games. The competition will be far fiercer than in previous years.
“This year, we have some huge prizes for the costuming,” says Rick Swensen, Beggin’ assistant brand manager. There are three categories: sports, celeb lookalike, and Mardi Gras. La Russa will serve as one of the judges. Each category will have a winner, whose human will take home a Cardinals ticket package or $1,000. The best overall male and female costumes will net their two-legged friends $2,500.
“We’re really upping the ante," says Nestle Purina account executive Daniel Koehler. "We want to see how creative people in St. Louis can get. Everybody really brings it with their creative costumes.”
“I think we’ve seen every Star Wars character—I’ve seen some awesome little Ewoks,” says Swensen. ”We’ve seen the Titanic.”
But don’t let the heightened competition stop you from just putting some beads on your canine. All are welcome—even other species. Donkeys and rabbits are among the critters that have made appearances at past parades.
“There’s going to be thousands of dogs and tens of thousands of people," Koehler says. "It is the pet parade, but we encourage people to use their pet responsibility.”
As if seeing a French bulldog dressed up like Pamela Anderson isn’t itself a good cause, all of the fun is for a good cause. Proceeds from the $10 parade registration fee benefit the Open Door Animal Sanctuary, a St. Louis area no-kill shelter. And for every social media picture from the event with the hashtag #BegginPetParade, Beggin’ will donate a buck (up to $10,000) to the Petfinder Foundation, a national nonprofit that makes grants to keep pets from being euthanized.
Register online or at the event. Onsite registration starts at 10 a.m. Sunday, with the parade starting at 1 p.m. For more information, click here.
