Dallas Holiday Parade Celebration Today Instead Of Cancellation
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - They needed a miracle and in the 11th hour someone stepped up to make the dreams of many come true. The Dallas Holiday Parade is a go, thanks to a mystery donor.
This afternoon at 4 p.m. parade organizers will discuss the 'holiday magic' that has allowed the 30th annual event to go on as planned. The press conference was originally the time scheduled to officially announce the parade's cancellation. Now the news event will be a celebration!
The Dallas Holiday Parade has only been cancelled twice and both time were because of inclement weather. But when the long-time sponsor, Children's Health, ended their sponsorship this year there was a $370,000 hole left in the budget.
Parade organizers worked furiously to raise some of the money, but didn't think they had enough in time. All of the deadline anxiety came to an end Wednesday night, when Jeffrey Giles received an email.
The note detailed how the person felt they needed to come to the rescue of their neighbors. Giles said, "It was just so exciting. You know, there's that moment... and I liken it to Christmas morning when you open the one thing you never thought you'd ever get, and it was like that for me. It was extraordinary."
More than 1,7000 tickets for the parade have already been sold.
There has been no official confirmation as to who the donor is. But our sister-station NewsRadio 1080 KRLD is reporting that the person works for a North Texas-based corporation and is a woman. It's expected that more details about the donor will be revealed at the afternoon press conference.
The more than 5,000 people already prepared to march in the downtown celebration are leaving the marks on their calendar. The Dallas Holiday Parade will happen on Saturday, December 2. The event kicks off at 10 a.m.
A footnote -- organizers are looking to avoid the same kind of financial issues next year. They'll be meeting in mid-January to discuss the 2018 parade.