McAllen officials and corporate partners lit the city’s South Pole Illuminated Festival at the McAllen Convention Center on opening night, drawing thousands for a tree-lighting ceremony, family attractions and a multi-night electric parade.

Emcee Brian opened the event, invited city commissioners to stand and urged residents to attend the parade “on the sixth,” and described the festival’s major draws including a giant Christmas tree, lanterns, a new ice rink and the Driscoll Electric Parade. “We’re talking about the 2025 South Pole Illuminated Festival. We’re here in McAllen at the convention center,” he said.

Mayor pro tem Sebi Haddad described the festival as a growing Rio Grande Valley tradition that brings families together and thanked presenting partners and volunteers. “This festival continues to evolve and grow thanks to the vision and hard work of so many teams,” Haddad said, urging families to make memories at the event.

City Manager Isaac Tewill credited city staff across departments for producing the event and highlighted collaboration among special events, parks and recreation, public works and public safety. “What you see around you, every glowing tree, every installation, every float … is something created by one team,” Tewill said.

Retail partner H‑E‑B used the opening to preview its new seasonal attraction. Linda Tovada of H‑E‑B said H‑E‑B on Ice — a South Pole skating experience — will open next week and H‑E‑B will continue its Community Day programming during the festival.

Driscoll Children’s Hospital and Driscoll Health Plan, the presenting partners of the Driscoll Electric Parade, said the parade will run Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 8:30 p.m. during the festival. Matt Walthorpe, identified in the transcript as president of Driscoll Children’s Hospital Rio Grande Valley, recalled taking the parade to patients in the hospital last year and called that a meaningful part of the program.

The evening included a brief back-and-forth with Santa, then a public countdown to the ceremonial lighting of the festival’s large Christmas tree. Attendees counted down together before the illumination sequence began.

Several speakers also framed the festival as part of McAllen’s broader planning and community-development work; during opening remarks the emcee said the city has been working on long-term water planning that includes deep-well drilling. That statement was presented in the program as an emcee remark and is attributed here to the emcee’s on-stage remarks, not independently verified in the transcript.

Organizers emphasized free and family-oriented activities, sponsor partnerships and nightly programming, with officials thanking volunteers and city staff for the event’s production. Officials said the festival will include the electric parade and other features across the opening weekend and beyond.