HOUSTON — Thursday marks the final H-E-B Thanksgiving Parade under Mayor Sylvester Turner's tenure. In honor of that, he's been named the parade's grand marshal.
Between the music, the costumes and the floats, the mayor hopes to close out his final year with a bow and a bang at this year's parade.
"This city has given me the opportunity to come from Acres Homes, come downtown, be at City Hall and be its mayor for eight years. I'm grateful for that," Turner said.
Turner, Houston's 62nd mayor, said although he's the grand marshal of the parade, it's not about him.
"When you're in these parades and you're looking at the faces of these kids, the innocence...just the smiles. They're waving back at you," he said.
That contagious energy is something the mayor said he holds close to his heart and brings the community together.
Reminiscing on years past, Turner said he only recalled one time it actually did rain on his parade.
"When it was threatening to rain and we had to cancel, I think that one hurt me the most," he explained.
That was in 2021, but it didn't overshadow the joy this parade has brought to the city for the past 74 years.
"Maybe that can become infectious and then you see people coming together, all walks of life, all colors coming together," Turner said.
Smiling faces will line the streets Thanksgiving morning while Turner looks on from his elaborate float one final time as mayor.
How to watch
You can watch the parade LIVE on KHOU 11. Our pre-parade coverage begins at 8 a.m., followed by the parade at 9 a.m. We'll have it live on air, online and on KHOU 11 + on Roku, FireTV and AppleTV.
If you're busy cooking up a Thanksgiving feast then, it will be re-broadcast at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Great Day Houston’s Deborah Duncan and KHOU 11 anchor Ron Treviño will host the parade, with reporter Ugochi Iloka reporting from the route.