With the holiday parade a day away, the McAllen Parks and Recreation Department has been hard at work. 

The McAllen Holiday Parade is the largest floating parade in the entire state, but putting together such an elaborate event doesn’t happen overnight. 

“Our team of parks crew, they work on the floats year-round," said McAllen Assistant City Manager Joe Vera. "So, after the parade, we’ll start planning for next year’s parade.” 

It all starts with a theme. Once they have a theme, their sponsors decide what they want their float to look like, and then the building begins.

Samuel Dominguez Jr. has been working on the parade for five years now.

“We make every detail––we try to make it real perfect," Dominguez said. "We make it so neat, so it looks real nice."

Each float can take two to three weeks, depending on the design. But for people like Dominguez, it’s worth it.

“It’s special for the families with the kids," Dominguez said. "I enjoy seeing the kids being happy with the floats and everything. That’s the reason I do it.” 

To buy tickets to the parade, click here.