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sher in the holiday season on the River Walk this year with the 2011 Ford Holiday River Parade and Lighting Ceremony. Join the Paseo del Rio Association as they stage the 30th per formance of a parade that has gained national acclaim. Watch the San Antonio River Walk come alive under approximately 1.8 million LED lights at 7 p.m. Nov. 25. Tourists and locals alike can enjoy the show from seats located along the parade route. The kickoff to the holiday season begins with the ceremonious flipping of the switch that star ts the lights a-glowing. Always festive, the San Antonio River Walk will be brighter than ever this holiday season with 20 times more Christmas lights. It ’s par t of the city ’s plan to switch from incandescent to more eco-friendly LED lighting. In total, the River Walk will be dressed with 1.8 million holiday lights; a stunning sight for the city ’s many holiday visitors. Almost 200 trees will be wrapped in 10,000 lights each, while some 20 stone bridges will be color fully illuminated in various patterns. Local ar tist Bill FitzGibbons is the designer behind this new lighting scheme. Known as an international ar tist and ar t leader, FitzGibbons also is the executive director for San Antonio’s Blue Star Contemporar y Ar t Center. To comp lem ent t he R iver Walk ’s n e w l i g ht i n g sc heme, t he Cit y of S an Antonio i s h o l di n g i t s inaugural Light Up D owntown Hol i day Co nte s t, whic h encourages d owntown b us i n e s s ow n e r s to com p ete for t he m ost d eco rat i ve a n d c reat ive use of LED light s. This w i l l co mb i n e d owntown’s r iver and st reet leve l s i nto o n e magic al holid ay d est inat ion. A grand p rod uc t ion, t he 2011 Fo rd H o l i day R iver Parad e and Light ing Cere mo ny i s t h e offic ial k ic koff to t his fest ive hol i day s e a s o n . This year ’s p arad e will b e cente re d o n t h e t heme “Holid ay Trad it ions.”
102 On The Town | November-December 2011
“ The theme Holiday Traditions was chosen to showcase some of our community ’s uniquely special traditions that set us apar t from other places,” said Nancy Hunt, executive director of the Paseo del Rio Association. “Our grand marshal represents one of the oldest and most-