Inflated and elated: Festival of Trees Holiday Parade returns to downtown Davenport

The largest helium balloon parade in the Midwest brought holiday cheer to people in downtown Davenport on Saturday.

The Festival of Trees Holiday Parade began 10 a.m. near the RiverCenter as part of the 2021 Festival of Trees event.

New balloons such as Animal from the Muppets, the Cheshire Cat and others made their debut this year.

Both kids and adults were excited for the parade to be back after getting canceled last year due to the pandemic.

Here’s what some of them had to say prior to the start of the parade:

“I’m looking forward to the band,” said one young attendee.

“They love seeing the floats and getting candy and seeing all the bands, and we’re really excited,” said a mother who was at the parade with her children.

“We do this every year,” said another attendee. “It’s a great parade.”

Although temperatures were a little milder than they’ve been as of late, plenty of people stopped by the free hot cocoa and coffee tent for warm beverages.

Check out a sneak peak of the 2021 Festival of Trees here.