Frosty The Snowman doesn't exist and the annual Holiday Parade that sashays through downtown Houston during Thanksgiving is at risk of fading away into thin air.
The latter is the type of news that awakens residents from a make-believe slumber in which big presentations such as this 63-year-old tradition magically happen on their own — but they don't. The Houston Festival Foundation, the nonprofit that hosts the Houston International Festival known as iFest, bore the responsibility for the parade's execution for the last 15 years.
As a consequence of financial difficulties brought on by the lack of sponsorships dollars for the parade for the last three years, Kim Stoilis, president and CEO of the foundation, publicly revealed that her organization will terminate the production of the free, family friendly procession that last year was enjoyed by an estimated 400,000 Houstonians and was broadcast in Dallas, San Antonio and Austin to a viewership of close to two million.
The notification may have come as a surprise to many, although Stoilis says she informed her presenting partners, stakeholders and city officials in January in hopes of finding another home for the display whose budget, on the high side, totaled upwards of $500,000.
All of the parade's assets, floats included — valued at $90,000 — have already been bought for $30,000 by the City of Hidalgo, Texas, which holds a similar event. The sale put an end to warehouse storage costs for the Houston Festival Foundation. Stoilis says earlier attempts to place the floats with local groups like the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and Uptown Houston District were unsuccessful.
"When I was hired two years ago, the Houston Festival Foundation was operating in a deficit," Stoilis tells CultureMap. "There was an interim year between my predecessor and myself in the executive director position. The organization depended substantially on lines of credit that remain outstanding from years past."
"The parade didn't fit our mission — and I don't know how many people associated the parade with us."
The decision to proceed with iFest rather than the Thanksgiving Day parade is critical for the Houston International Foundation to achieve financial solvency while, at the same time, aligning faithfully to the foundation's mission, Stoilis maintains.
"Nonprofits get in trouble when they stray from their missions," she says. "Concentrating on the festival (iFest), which generates revenue, and (iFest's) educational programs was part of a larger strategic plan to be on a earnest path back to financial recovery.
"The parade didn't fit our mission — and I don't know how many people associated the parade with us."
Major benefactors of the parade have included Wells Fargo, IKEA and KHOU Ch. 11. Foley's was the inaugural title sponsor for the 1949 introductory parade. It was known as the Foley's Thanksgiving Day Parade for 44 years.
When Foley's was purchased by Macy's, the parade lost its major, longtime backer. Corporate entities such as H-E-B, Bank United and Washington Mutual have served as title underwriters in the past.
"Houston is home to many events and many nonprofit groups," Stoilis says. "Over time applicants for grants have grown exponentially. As businesses scale down, so do their donations — and that trickles down to events like the parade, which hasn't received enough private funding."
The parade was handed down to the Houston Festival Foundation from the Houston Downtown Management District 15 years ago, Stoilis says. Since then, the Houston Festival Foundation has invested more than $300,000 in the parade, mainly in new signature floats designed by international artists. In order to cut the budget, pageant wagons were "recycled" and "upcycled" in place of commissioning freshly decorated platforms.
When the foundation resolved to no longer mount the parade, in essence downsizing from two principal yearly events to one, Stoilis further eliminated administrative positions in a round of layoffs that saw special events manager Paul Pettie and development coordinator Sean Boyd lose their jobs.
"I am certain today's news has many asking what happens now. I personally want to see it continue."
Stoilis says that conversations with the City of Houston and the Houston Downtown Management District to locate a substitute presenter for the parade started in January, although no agreements have been reached so far. A meeting in Mayor Annise Parker's office on Monday included discussions with H-E-B and the Houston Downtown Management District, centering on the idea that they might consider taking over the parade.
"The parade is a tradition that has been enjoyed by thousands who come downtown to experience it in person and by a large television audience that reaches far beyond Houston," Parker said in a statement. "I am certain today's news has many asking what happens now. I personally want to see it continue."
"We didn't always produce the parade, and I don't think we are going to be the last," Stoilis says.
Will someone/something come to the rescue? Holiday pixie dust won't do it — unless it morphs into hard cash.
Kim Stoilis, executive director of the Houston Festival Foundation.
