Preparations finishing up for SF Giants victory parade
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Friday will be a memorable day for many San Franciscans. There's the Giants victory parade, Halloween and Critical Mass.
Preparations for the parade are just finishing up in Civic Center Plaza.
There are eight floats that will take sponsors of the Giants down Market Street for the grand parade. It's been a race against the clock to finish all of them in time.
The Parade Guys on Pier 54 in San Francisco started building early this week because waiting until a Giants win would have been too late.
The Giants didn't want to jinx anything, but finally agreed to pay a stipend before Wednesday's Game 6.
Then came the 10-0 loss and the possibility that all of the work could be for naught.
"You know, I'm only 29 years old. Look what the stress did to me," master float builder David Thomas said.
Thomas' team has not stopped working, not even to watch Wednesday night's win.
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He holds a special place in his heart for one float in particular. "We were cutting that when they lost Game 6 and you don't know how hard it was to put up 'Don't Stop Believing' instead of maybe 'give up believing.' Believe me, at that point it was really hard," Thomas said.
"We were so happy that they won. We kept going, 'Oh no, this was all for nothing, oh no.' But they won, yay!" float builder Stephanie Mufson said.
The finishing touches are being put on the floats, from the iconic Golden Gate Bridge to a panda for Pablo Sandoval.
The floats are weather-proof and ready for any rain on Friday.
During the parade, the floats are traditionally towed by PG&E and UPS trucks and filled up with people from sponsors and other organizations linked to the Giants.
"A lot of times, they'll put Little League kids on and stuff. We never quite know who the guests of honor will be. Although I would love to see a certain panda on the panda float," Thomas said.
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The barricades are up. On Thursday, fans stood in long lines to get yet another Giants clothing item and businesses along Market Street prepared for the big event.
"To see the city kinda get together, all of the businesses come together, all the people from out of town, so it's great," San Francisco resident said.
During the last parade in 2012, cell service was poor, to say the least. This time, there are temporary cell towers near the Civic Center.
Thousands of fans are expected to attend the parade.
While families enjoy seeing the parade in person, the school district is urging parents to keep their kids in school.
"Our schools are deciding how they are going to handle it. I know some schools are going to show the parade, some will stream the parade. Plus, they have a lot of Halloween activities that they're going to be doing," Superintendent Richard Carranza said. "But you know, kids belong in school."
In 2012, the school district failed to get $160,000 in lost average daily attendance from the state.
The parade begins at noon. The route will start at the foot of Market and Steuart streets near the Ferry Building.
From there, the Giants will ride double-decker buses to City Hall for a big on-stage ceremony.
Join ABC7 News at 11 on Friday for full live coverage of the third championship in five years.
For full coverage of the San Francisco Giants' World Series win, click here.
