The Parade of Lights draws thousands to downtown Denver every year to take in the pageantry of the holiday season. Here’s a breakdown of this year’s installment: What: The 33rd annual 9News Parade of Lights.
When: 8 tonight, 6 p.m. Saturday.
Cost: Free along the parade route. Grandstand tickets are $12-$15 through 866-464-2626 or . Children 2 and under are free.
How Long: The parade follows a 22-block, 2.2-mile route, starting at the City and County Building and ending at 14th Street and Glenarm Place. The procession takes about an hour.
Expected Crowd: The crowd reached 385,000 in 2005. About 200,000 people watch the 9News broadcast from home.
Marching Bands: Nine high school bands with 853 total members will travel in 24 buses and 10 trucks to play at the event.
Balloons: This year features four balloons, including a 60-foot-high Kermit the Frog. Each balloon takes up to an hour to inflate and uses 22,300 cubic feet of helium — the equivalent to filling 21,000 nine-inch balloons. Twenty people handle each balloon, which helps when they need to dip to 14 feet to “limbo” under the light-rail lines.
Lights: About 205,000 lights use 245,000 watts of power from 42 generators. Performers and participants wear an average of 20 lights in their 220 costumes.
People and Places: It takes a year to plan the parade, 10 weeks to repair and construct floats, and 552 volunteers to run it. Floats, costumes and signs are stored in a 16,000-square-foot warehouse the rest of the year.
Extremes: The parade has never been postponed or canceled due to weather, but in 1985 the low hit 3 degrees, with a wind chill of 15 below zero. In 1998, the temperature was 68 degrees. The next year it snowed 16 inches.
More Information: Call 303-571-8200 or visit . John Wenzel
