OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Here comes the king! Hundreds of people crowded the parking lot at the Hy-Vee on 135th Street in Overland Park on Friday to get up close and personal with the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales.

“We’re from North Dakota, but we were staying at our son’s house,” Linda Bergstrom said. “And he said, ‘The Clydesdales are in town!’ So we ran literally across the whole town so we could see them.”

Anheuser-Busch is sending the iconic horses on a goodwill tour through key cities in Kansas to celebrate a new liquor law. Grocery stores and gas stations can now sell beer with an alcoholic content of up to 6%.

Friday’s appearance is similar to the Clydesdales’ initial debut in 1933. The brewery sent the horses to deliver beer to the White House in Washington D.C. to celebrate the end of Prohibition.

“Now I understand the hype because they’re just giant,” Alli Bergstrom said.

Whether or not you’re a fan of Budweiser, or beer in general, there’s no denying the cultural impact of the Clydesdales, either through Super Bowl commercials or appearances at events like the Rose Parade and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

“You think of the Super Bowl; you think of the commercials,” Bergstrom said.

Tyler Sherrill went so far as to wear his Clydesdale Christmas onesie to Hy-Vee on Friday.

“I’ve been dying to come see them,” Sherrill said.

If you’d like to see the Clydesdales in Kansas, you have one more opportunity. The horses will be in downtown Lawrence, near 9th and Massachusetts Street, on Saturday from 2-4 p.m.