What it takes to keep the McAllen Holiday Parade afloat

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — This year's theme for the McAllen Holiday Parade is Noche de Magica, and ValleyCentral spoke to some of the people working behind the scenes to make this epic night so magical for the people of McAllen and the Rio Grande Valley.

Joe Vera, Assistant City Manager with the City of McAllen said this year they have 2,700 to 3,000 volunteers.

"That's what it takes to produce a parade," Vera said.

Given that the Holiday Parade is touted as the largest helium parade in Texas, Vera explained just how many people it takes to get those helium balloons out on the street.

"Every balloon needs a different amount of handlers, some will take 30 to 40 balloon handlers and others will take as few as six balloon handlers," Vera said.

He said they have about 700 to 800 balloon handlers.

As for safety, Vera said there are about 300 law enforcement officers from different agencies ensuring all runs smoothly during the parade.

As for the city of McAllen he said all 35 departments in the city play some role in getting this parade to fruition.

Aside from the city there are plenty of sponsors that help make the parade a reality. Vera says the return of sponsors is over 95% which the city is grateful for.

This year there are about 12 new sponsors and floats that the community can expect to see on the street.