About
The 38th annual Ford Holiday River Parade will be held on Friday, November 23rd on the downtown River Walk. Each of the 29 floats will bring to life the 2018 theme Christmas In San Antonio, with lights, decor and costumed float riders. This family-friendly event is held each year the day after Thanksgiving and kicks off the official lighting of the River Walk.
Help us share the "Christmas Spirit" with over 50,000 spectators in downtown San Antonio plus millions of television views nationwide.
Positions
0 Remaining
Age Limit
16 and up
Social
Requirement Details
Volunteer Qualifications
- Must be 17 years of age or older unless you are volunteering with a supervised group or a part of a family sign-up.
- Must be friendly and personable, excellent customer service skills required!
- Must be a team player, and must work well with others.
- Must be available to work the entire parade from start to finish 3-9 PM, but no
later than 10 pm.
- Help with folding and stacking chairs after the parade has ended in your section.
- Review all training materials ( provided a week prior to parade day) upon arrival to check-in location on parade day.
As an Usher & Ticket Taker volunteer you must agree to:
-Dress comfortably, casual holiday attire preferred, you will be given a festive elf hat to wear along with a neon security vest (you keep the hat)
-Be available to attend a quick training with your assigned team once you have checked in to your shift
-Be physically able to carry out your required ushering duties (be able to lift 10 lbs., climb stairs, walk, and stand for a few hours at a time)
-Agree to abide by the San Antonio River Walk Associations volunteer policies and procedures
-Work with the Chair Captain assigned to you, support and assist this person to the best of your abilities. Report any issues to the Volunteer Manager
- Must be 17 years of age or older unless you are volunteering with a supervised group or a part of a family sign-up.
- Must be friendly and personable, excellent customer service skills required!
- Must be a team player, and must work well with others.
- Must be available to work the entire parade from start to finish 3-9 PM, but no
later than 10 pm.
- Help with folding and stacking chairs after the parade has ended in your section.
- Review all training materials ( provided a week prior to parade day) upon arrival to check-in location on parade day.
As an Usher & Ticket Taker volunteer you must agree to:
-Dress comfortably, casual holiday attire preferred, you will be given a festive elf hat to wear along with a neon security vest (you keep the hat)
-Be available to attend a quick training with your assigned team once you have checked in to your shift
-Be physically able to carry out your required ushering duties (be able to lift 10 lbs., climb stairs, walk, and stand for a few hours at a time)
-Agree to abide by the San Antonio River Walk Associations volunteer policies and procedures
-Work with the Chair Captain assigned to you, support and assist this person to the best of your abilities. Report any issues to the Volunteer Manager
Perks
Aside from the cool elf hat you get for being an usher, you also get the following:
Volunteers who attend their shift will be entered to win door prizes raffled every hour until the parade is over, FREE Whataburger lunch, in addition to snacks, water, and beverages that will be provided throughout the event.
Volunteers who attend their shift will be entered to win door prizes raffled every hour until the parade is over, FREE Whataburger lunch, in addition to snacks, water, and beverages that will be provided throughout the event.
Parking Details
FREE parking will be available at the Central Library parking lot, shuttle buses will usher you too and from the designated areas and back to your car at the end of the shift
Causes
Skills
Sustainable Development Goals
GivePulse
4 Positions Filled
|
3 Impacts
|
18 Hours
Wall
Javier Gonzalez wrote on November 21st, 2018
Good Morning!
Happy Thanksgiving in advance, the 38th Annual Ford Holiday River Parade is upon us, and on behalf of the SARWA staff we are so happy you can be a part of the team that will make this grand event possible. WE are expecting record numbers of people, last year parade chairs sold out and we are on track to selling out again this year, it is estimated that more than 60,000 people where downtown to view the parade last year and no doubt we will exceed that number this year! ( as you may or may not know more than half of parade attendees are out-of-town guests) The parade is also being nominated as
As a volunteer, your presence at the parade will help to ensure it's success, by providing tourists and locals alike the highest quality of hospitality/ customer service that will make our city proud. Thank you again for your dedication and service to the SAN ANTONIO RIVER WALK!
Please see volunteer event day details below.
CHECK-IN TIME:
Please arrive between 2:30- 3 PM
CHECK-IN LOCATION AND PARKING:
Will be at the Central Library's parking garage located at 600 Soledad St. there will be a volunteer parking attendant available starting at 2 PM. Free Parking for the duration of the event, but please be sure to move your car out of the garage by 11 PM.
If you do not want to drive to the parade, Lyft is offering special discount codes, existing user code for 25% off 2 rides to the Ford Holiday River Parade is: FORDHOLIDAY18
The new user code for $5 off 2 rides to the event is: FORDHOLIDAYNEW18
ATTIRE:
Festive Christmas wear is highly encouraged, I will be promoting an UGLY SWEATER CONTEST for volunteers attending on Friday, and will be giving away 2 pairs of tickets to The Nutcracker, https://www.artssa.org/the-nutcracker/ at the Lila Cockrall Theater for the 2 Top UGLIEST CHRISTMAS SWEATERS!!
Dress for the weather, forecast for Friday shows mild weather, so bring a light jacket and your comfy walking shoes. (remember you will be on your feet and walking around a lot)
BEFORE YOU ARRIVE:
Please be sure to bookmark, on your phones internet browser the link to the online parade map here: https://www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com/river-map
The interactive map will be useful to you when directing people around downtown and with purchasing tickets the day of the event.
Please take some time to review the power point Training Guide link, it has lots of useful information, a smaller version of this will be giving to you by volunteer leaders on Friday, but please review it none the less.
Training Guide Power Point Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11DgqG7-xeo6mwLL_ULL71xFXEjjX9n85/view?usp=sharing
Please be sure to open with Google Slides.
The most important take away from this training is how to read the maps and how to read tickets.
Also be sure to include yourself in the TEXT Alert system that I sent out last week if you haven't done so, i'll be sending out messages during the parade that will be helpful to you.
WHEN YOU ARRIVE:
Upon check-in you will be given an orange wristband, Whataburger meal, snacks and waters, elf hat and security vest, then you will be assigned a parade zone ( A-F), you will then meet your group leaders for your section and be taken to your sections at the designated times depending on your zone, you will either walk to your area by 3:30 PM and buses will start boarding promptly at 3:45 PM. When the parade starts please be sure to notify your leaders if you need to go to the bathroom, or need a break, they will make sure your areas are being covered. Please direct any questions or issues to your designated group leaders. At the end of the parade please help to fold and stack chairs and turn in any items to your group leaders.
Thanks again, and I hope this email will help in making your volunteer experience a great one, I'd also like to invite everyone to an "unofficial" volunteer after party destination at MERKABA when you have been dismissed from your duties,they are having an UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER PARTY, where i'll be announcing our winners and handing out some prizes, it will be an awesome time, i'll be passing out more info at the parade, I hope you can make it!
Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns, i'll be available to take calls throughout the week including Thanksgiving day.
-Best
Javier Gonzalez
Volunteer Manager
210-214-5243 Cell Phone
210-227-4262 ext 103 Office
Javier Gonzalez wrote on November 17th, 2018
Lyft is offering discounts to the parade, see discounts and links below.
The existing user code for 25% off 2 rides to the Ford Holiday River Parade is: FORDHOLIDAY18
The new user code for $5 off 2 rides to the event is: FORDHOLIDAYNEW18
Existing user link: https://www.lyft.com/invite/FORDHOLIDAY18
New user link: https://www.lyft.com/invite/FORDHOLIDAYNEW18
the coverage area is the parade route and surrounding area and is valid starting Nov. 23 at 12:00 PM through 11/24 at 2:00 AM.
