Mayor Jim Darling and city commissioners on Tuesday announced that University of Texas Rio Grande Valley President Guy Bailey will be the grand marshal at the city’s annual holiday parade on Dec. 7.
Bailey, who has lived in South Texas for just five years and who was recently named 2019 Border Texan of the Year, will be joined in the parade by Telemundo’s Carolina Sandoval and Jorge Bernal, Dallas Cowboys lineman La’el Collins and former defensive end and Super Bowl XII Champion Ed “Too Tall” Jones, all of whom were announced in recent weeks.
Also at the fifth annual holiday parade, which has drawn more than 250,000 people in recent years, will be the Budweiser Clydesdale horses, back for another year in McAllen. Jerry Jones’ private Dallas Cowboys tour bus will also be on-site and made available to the general public, and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders will be in attendance along with Rowdy, the team’s mascot.
The city will also provide a free shuttle, called “the polar express,” from the South Texas College campus on Pecan Boulevard to the parade event site. There are more than 3,000 parking spots available, city officials said.
Hundreds of McAllen Independent School District students will be performing at the football stadium at McAllen High School alongside Mané de la Parra. De la Parra recorded a video displayed at a news conference on Tuesday at the McAllen Convention Center where he said he was excited to be in McAllen.
