Weather looks good for Fort Worth Stock Show parade
What’s new for Saturday’s 2015 edition of the All Western Parade: Sunshine and warmth, after an extended period of cold and cloudy weather.
What’s sacred: The parade’s commitment to horsepower — the old-fashioned kind.
The combination should pack the parade route through downtown for the annual Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo spectacle, which begins at 11 a.m. The parade starts at Weatherford and Main streets, and then heads south on Main, west on 9th Street and north on Houston Street.
“It’s weather driven and the weather looks great for Saturday,” said parade Chairman Philip Schutts. The forecast calls for a temperature around 60 degrees and sunny skies.
The parade, when the weather is nice, has been known to draw close to 100,000.
“We ought to bring folks out,” Schutts said.
The All Western Parade is unique in that doesn’t allow motorized vehicles. Although there is no accurate record of when the first parade was held, it started about the time the Stock Show was established in 1896, Schutts said.
There will be “all sorts of wagons,” from dainty surreys to utility wagons. There will also be uniformed riding groups of 12 members or more. Schutts said riding clubs come from all over the country to participate. Also in the parade are mounted police groups.
“We pride ourselves saying it is the world’s largest all-Western parade,” he said. “It’s really the kickoff of the 23-day run of the Stock Show.”
The parade usually has more than 200 entries.
Some riding groups have 80 or more riders. In 2014, there were 2,348 horses in the parade.
Staff writer Diane Smith contributed to this report.
Shirley Jinkins, 817-390-7657
Reserved seating
▪ Reserved seating is available for the All Western Parade in Sundance Plaza ($25) and in front of the Fort Worth Convention Center ($15).
▪ Spectators need to purchase their reserved seating by Friday, because no seating tickets are sold on site the day of the parade. The total reserved seating available is 1,400 seats.
▪ Tickets for reserved seating can be purchased through the Rodeo Ticket Office, 3401 W. Lancaster Ave., or call 817-877-2420 during business hours to select sections and seats. Tickets sold through the ticket office must be purchased and picked up by 8 p.m. Friday, there is no will-call at the parade.
▪ Seats may also be purchased at Ticketmaster.com, but will include convenience charges.
▪ A parade seat ticket includes a single-day general admission to the Stock Show grounds on any day during the show’s 23-day run.
This story was originally published January 15, 2015 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Weather looks good for Fort Worth Stock Show parade."