More than 100,000 people will be doing their best to get lucky Saturday morning.Unlike many of the St. Patrick’s Day parades throughout the country, which feature attendees waving at floats, bands and bagpipes as they pass by, the attendees of the “Wearin’ of the Green Parade” are active participants, competing with each other for beads, cups and doubloons in true Mardi Gras style.The 24th annual “Wearin’ of the Green Parade” is set to roll through Baton Rouge at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The parade begins at the corner of Hundred Oaks Avenue and South Acadian Thruway and snakes its way down Eugene and Terrace, ending under Interstate 10 on Perkins Road.Pat Shingleton, WBRZ weatherman and the parade’s founder and organizer, said he thinks the parade has enjoyed success because it serves as a continuation of Mardi Gras and recognition of the Irish culture.”It’s a discipline of people recognizing St. Patrick as the patron saint of Ireland and the contribution the Irish have made to the United States of America,” Shingleton said. “For a country the size of West Virginia, they have certainly influenced quite a bit of what has occurred in this country.”Robert Muench, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge, and Mayor-President Kip Holden will lead the parade, followed by 79 floats, marching bands and Celtic bagpipers from around the state. The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile is also scheduled to make an appearance.This year’s grand marshal is Dick Bourke, chairman of the Irish Tourist Industry Federation. Bourke is one of Ireland’s best known tourism personalities and has served as president of the Irish Hotels Federation and general manager of Jurys, one of Ireland’s largest hotels.”The Wearin’ of the Green Parade” began in 1986, when Shingleton and his brother, then owners of ZeeZee Gardens Pub on Perkins Road, organized the first parade to generate traffic in the Perkins Road area and commemorate their patron saint. The original parade was little more than a walking parade starting at the City Park Golf Course on Perkins Road and ending at ZeeZee Gardens.The parade caught on quickly, and the old route was changed to accommodate the growing number of floats and attendees throughout the years. Now the parade is the largest St. Patrick’s Day event in the state and draws more than 100,000 people to the City Park area every year.”To take a day to recognize the patron saint of Ireland is pretty much a testimony to the heritage of the Irish people in this part of the country,” Shingleton said.In addition to celebrating the patron saint of Ireland, real estate agent Della Nelly and body shop owner Don Stout will celebrate their own wedding. The two will marry before the parade and then ride on their own float to the reception at the Caterie parking lot.The parade offers many students an opportunity to spend time with friends and family and serves an excuse for some students to party.Elizabeth Kent, elementary education junior, said she plans to attend the parade with her family in the morning and have her friends over for a cookout and volleyball at her house later in the day.”I love St. Patty’s Day because it’s such a great excuse to get together with friends and family,” Kent said. “The weather is usually so perfect to get outside and have some good ol’ wholesome fun.”—-Contact Jack LeBlanc at [email protected]