HOUSTON (Nov. 17, 2023) – The University of Houston-Downtown’s (UHD) 45-foot tall, helium-filled mascot Ed-U-Gator—with a 30-foot tail—will make its debut in the 74th Annual H-E-B Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday, Nov. 23. Home of the Gators, UHD is Houston’s second-largest university and an anchor institution in the heart of downtown Houston.
With the help of 30 UHD merit scholars, the UHD drumline, cheerleaders, dance team, club team athletes, and members of sororities and fraternities will lead the way as the giant Gator goes marching.
“This gigantic Ed-U-Gator mirrors our immense pride in our students and alumni, and our alliance with H-E-B and the City of Houston is symbolic of our many partnerships as an anchor institution for Houston,” said Vice President for Advancement and University Relations Jay Zambrano. “We look forward to spending Thanksgiving morning with our students, alumni, and the larger community as we express our thanks for the opportunities that only higher education can offer.”
Ed-U-Gator joins colorful floats, marching bands, and other high-flying balloons in one of the country’s oldest Thanksgiving Day parades. Hundreds of the 66,000 UHD alumni of UHD are expected to line the parade route sporting their UHD gear.
The H-E-B Thanksgiving Day Parade is a regional holiday tradition televised by KHOU-TV (CBS) in Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, New Orleans, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and other southeastern U.S. cities and watched by 1.8 million people.
For more information about the parade, visit www.houstontx.gov/thanksgivingparade/. For information about UHD, visit uhd.edu.
