Chuy's Giving to Children Christmas Parade - 12-1-12

Every year Chuy's puts an a Christmas parade with giant inflatable balloons, festive holiday floats,  awesome, yes some might even say spectacular marching bands, children's characters, classic cars and even Jolly ole Santa himself are all included in this great annual holiday event.
Be sure to bring a toy  and at a designated time during the parade procession, the parade will stop and all parade participants will collect the toys from the spectators. The toys will then be distributed by Operation Blue Santa to children in need in time for the holidays. The parade has become a big part of this great cause collecting nearly one-third of the toys collected each year at the parade.
The idea started in 1989, but that is getting ahead of ourselves. To really tell the tale of how the parade started, we need to go back to 1987. That's when Chuy's co-owner Mike Young and KLBJ-FM teamed up to start an annual toy drive at Austin's two Chuy's locations to benefit the Operation Blue Santa program.
Two years later, Mike decided it was time to increase awareness of the toy drive by having a parade. So a couple of weeks before Christmas, volunteer's from Chuy's passed out fliers to everyone they meet downtown. The fliers asked them to bring a toy with them to work and the parade would come by to collect them. The following Thursday, the parade went up one side of Congress and back down the other stopping along the way to collect toys, including; according to the parades website a giant teddy bear, from then Governor Bill Clements.  That year Chuy's efforts nearly tripled the number of toys collected from previous years.
So come on out and enjoy the 24th annual Chuy's Christmas Parade and give to those children who might otherwise do without this Christmas season.

When:
Dec. 1, 2012 11am

Website:
Chuy's Giving to Children Christmas Parade

Location:
Downtown along Congress Avenue from the State Capital to Ceaser Chavez


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