SPECIAL EVENTS

The Houston Festival Foundation presents the 60th Annual H-E-B Holiday Parade on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26, 2009, starting at 9:00am.

The 2009 parade will wind its way through the streets of downtown made up of sky-scraping action and shining superstars. Oversized elaborate, brightly animated floats will feature live entertainment and giant helium-filled balloons will soar in Houston’s downtown skyscrapers. Over 5,000 participants in marching bands, drill teams, dancers, cheerleaders and clowns will bring to life this 60-year old tradition.

Highlighting the parade will be fantastic floats like family favorites Tom Turkey and Santa Claus. Plus:

* High-flying Hot Air Balloons
* Marvelous Marching Bands
* Hundreds of Cheerleaders
* Costumed Characters

It's great all-around family entertainment!

Houston’s Thanksgiving Day Parade began in 1949, when Santa arrived at Union Station and rode his sleigh to the downtown Foley's. That led to a 44-year tradition – the Foley's Thanksgiving Day Parade. In later years, Bank United and Washington Mutual each claimed the title sponsorship. In 2006, H-E-B was named the new title sponsor of the parade. The Parade also received a new look and logo, and is now referred to as the H-E-B Holiday Parade.

The parade is telecast live locally on KHOU-TV, Channel 11 and is syndicated in many other major markets throughout Texas and beyond.

Parade is free to the public anywhere along the parade route outside of the TV Zone. A limited number of reserved bleacher seats in the TV Zone are available for purchase. Proceeds from reserved seating ticket sales benefit the Houston Festival Foundation, Inc. education programs reaching more than 1,450 public schools each year and the Houston Chronicle Readers are Leaders literacy program.