With no sponsor, Dallas holiday parade in jeopardy

A Dallas tradition is on the edge of being canceled.

Organizers of the Dallas Holiday Parade had until 6 p.m. Monday to raise more than $320,000 to save the event. However, the insurance underwriters gave a 48-hour extension to raise the money.

The parade in downtown Dallas is one of the largest in the United States. The tradition goes back two generations and typically attracts crowds of more than 500,000.

Executive Director Jeffrey Giles says he's making progress with smaller donations but still needs a major sponsor and is still hoping for a Christmas miracle.

Giles says more than 5,000 volunteers are standing ready and prepared along with another 5,000 ready to March in this year's parade. He is hoping some big corporation in North Texas will step up and save the celebration this year.

“At the end of the day basically, this is a gift to the City of Dallas,” Giles said. “This parade was created as a gift to the City of Dallas and to the children. And what better way to give to an organization? What better way to give to a city?"

Giles says to date they've sold more than 2,000 VIP tickets for the parade. If it's canceled, all that money will be refunded.

This year's parade is still scheduled to take place on Saturday, December 2. The parade route will go down Commerce from Houston Street to Harwood.

Giles says the biggest sponsor so far has been the Statler Hotel with a $50,000 contribution. Organizers are still looking for another $320,000 and have until 9 p.m. on Wednesday.

This past spring, Children's Health announced it would no longer be the parade’s sponsor after decades of hosting the parade.

Organizers are hoping to find a new sponsor with money to keep the event going. Costs associated with the parade include security, medical personnel and barricades.