The Sun Bowl Association and Glasheen, Valles & Inderman Injury Lawyers announced the grand marshal and theme for this year’s Thanksgiving Day parade.
The grand marshal will be the Amigo Man; Estine Davis, El Paso businesswoman, owner of Estine’s Barbershop, is the posthumous honorary grand marshal. The theme of the parade is “Famous Sports & Movie Scenes.”
This year’s parade will start at 10 a.m. on Nov. 26, 2026. For more information on the parade, visit www.sunbowl.org.
Here is a look back at past Sun Bowl Parade grand marshals:
• Jan. 1, 1936: Capt. John R. Hughes, veteran state law enforcement officer, former Texas Ranger.
• Jan. 1, 1937: Lucile Browne, Hollywood actress
• Jan. 1, 1938: Miss Noel Collier, local actress and great granddaughter of Buck Kilgore, U.S. senator
• Jan. 1, 1939: Neill McKay, representing Utah, granddaughter of Brigham Young
• Jan. 1, 1940: Kathryn Jones, daughter of Arizona Gov. Robert Taylor Jones
• Jan. 1, 1941: Joseph Bentonelli, American lyric tenor
• Jan. 1, 1942: Capt. John R. Hughes, veteran state law enforcement officer, former Texas Ranger
• 1943-1946: No parade
• Jan 1, 1947: Sam D. Myres, a saddle-maker who made saddles for ranchers and Hollywood stars such as Gene Autry and John Wayne.
• Jan 1, 1948: Anna Louise Jagoe, 1946-47 Sun Queen
• Jan 1, 1949: Col. Ray N. Lewis, deputy post commander Fort Bliss
• Jan 1, 1950: Maj. Gen. John L. Homer, commander Fort Bliss
• Jan. 1, 1951: Maj. Gen. John T. Lewis, commander Fort Bliss
• Jan. 1, 1952: Dr. C.M. Hendricks, originator of the Sun Carnival
• Jan. 1, 1953: Karl O. Wyler, owner of KTSM television and radio stations
• Jan. 1, 1954: New Mexico Gov. Edwin L. Mechem
• Jan. 1, 1955: Maj. Gen. Paul W. Rutledge, commander of Fort Bliss, and Mrs. Rutledge
• Jan. 1, 1956: Seaborn Collins, former national commander of the American Legion
• Jan. 1, 1957: El Paso Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs
• Jan. 1, 1958: Hugh M. Milton II, assistant secretary of the Army
• Jan. 1, 1959: Tom Lea, artist and author
• Jan. 1, 1960: New Mexico Gov. John Burroughs
• Jan. 1, 1961: Conrad N. Hilton, president of Hilton Hotel Corp. and director of El Paso National Bank
• Jan. 1. 1962: Richard Lopez, El Paso’s National Boy of the Year
• Jan. 1, 1963: Ambassador Raymond Telles, former El Paso mayor
• Jan. 1, 1964: Capt. Mildred L. Clark, Army Nurse Corp.1968
• Jan. 1, 1965: Chris Fox, banker, 1944 Sun Bowl president
• Jan. 1, 1966: Actor Gilbert Roland
• Jan. 1, 1967: UTEP coaches Bobby Dobbs and Don Haskins
• Jan. 1, 1968: Emmett Kelly Jr., world-famous circus clown
• Jan. 1, 1969: Mickey Mouse
• Jan. 1, 1970: Golfer Lee Treviño
• Jan. 1, 1971: Singer Vikki Carr
• Jan. 1, 1972: Golfer Lee Treviño
• Jan. 1, 1973: Miguel Pedraza, governor of the Tigua community
• Jan. 1, 1974: Lt. Cmdr. Aubrey Nichols, Vietnam POW
• Jan. 1, 1975: Mickey Mantle, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer
• Jan. 1, 1976: Maj. Gen. C.J. LeVan, commander Fort Bliss
• Jan. 1, 1977: Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier, CBS sports broadcasters
• Nov. 22, 1978: General of the Army Omar N. Bradley
• Nov. 22, 1979: Congressman Richard C. White
• Nov. 27, 1980: State Sen. Tati Santiesteban, honorary grand marshal Gen. Omar Bradley
• Nov. 26, 1981: Astronauts Robert Crippen and Joe Engle
• Nov. 25, 1982: Miss Universe Karen Baldwin
• Nov. 24, 1983: Bruce Weitz, actor
• Nov. 22, 1984: Ana Alicia, actress
• Nov. 28, 1985: Miss USA Laura Martinez Herring
• Nov. 27, 1986: Dr. Bonnie Dunbar, astronaut
• Nov. 26, 1987: Don Maynard, NFL Hall of Fame inductee
• Nov. 24, 1988: Patrick Baca, actor
• Nov. 23, 1989: Garfield
• Nov. 22, 1990: Don Haskins, UTEP men’s basketball coach
• Nov. 28, 1991: Jim Meskimen, the Jewel Osco Guy
• Nov. 26, 1992: Little Joe Hernandez, singer
• Nov. 24, 1993: Major League Baseball players Frank Castillo and Butch Henry
• Nov. 24, 1994: Jack C. Vowell
• Nov. 23, 1995: Jim Lovell, Apollo 13 commander
• Nov. 28, 1996: Buzz Lightyear
• Nov. 27, 1997: Tom Lea, artist and author
• Nov. 26, 1998: El Paso Buzzards President Jim Burlew and team coach Todd Brost
• Nov. 25, 1999: No grand marshal
• Nov. 23, 2000: Andrew Nemeth III, USS Cole Fireman
• Nov. 22, 2001: Sam Donaldson of ABC News
• Nov. 28, 2002: Tristan Gale, Olympic gold medalist
• Nov. 27, 2003: Former POWs Spc. Shoshana Johnson and Cpl. Joseph Hudson
• Nov. 25, 2004: Alejandro Hernandez, actor. UTEP basketball coach Don Haskins, Jessica Silva and Rene Hernandez Armijo were honorary grand marshals.
• Nov. 24, 2005: Bugs Bunny, Sylvester the Cat and Tweety Bird
• Nov. 23, 2006: Ron Capps, a National Hot Rod Association professional funny-car driver
• Nov. 22. 2007: Haywood Jeffries, Houston Oilers wide receiver, and Fort Bliss’ 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division
• Nov. 26, 2008: Ray Mickens, Andress High School and NFL football star
• Nov. 26, 2009: Dora the Explorer
• Nov. 25, 2010: The city of El Paso for being named the 2010 All American City
• Nov. 24, 2011: Bill Macatee, a 1973 graduate of Burges High School, CBS sportscaster
• Nov. 22, 2012: Iron Man, Thor and Spider-Man
• Nov. 21, 2013: Austin Trout, professional boxer
• Nov. 28, 2014: Nolan Richardson, National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee.
• Nov. 26, 2015: Members of the 1966 Texas Western College (now the University of Texas at El Paso) NCAA basketball championship team
• Nov. 24, 2016: Ginger Kerrick, a flight director who serves in the Mission Control Center at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston
• Nov. 23, 2017: 14 World War II veterans from El Paso
• Nov. 22, 2018: WWE Superstar Sin Cara, who grew up in El Paso and Juárez
• Nov. 28, 2019: Ron Stallworth, author of “Black Klansman”
Nov. 26, 2020: Greenbay Packers running back Aaron Jones and his twin brother Alvin hosted the parade virtually.
Nov. 25, 2021: Fabiola Salayandia who won $25,000 on a Spanish-language reality design show on the HGTV network called “Hogar Star.”
Nov. 24, 2022: John Folmer, a longtime board member and volunteer and Jimmy Rogers Jr., a Sun Bowl “legend” who was inducted into the Bowl Season Leadership Hall of Fame.
Nov. 23, 2023: Tuff Hedeman, World Champion and Pro Rodeo Hall-of-Fame bull rider.
Nov. 28, 2024: Wayne Thornton, Sun Bowl Association President in 2005, he retired from the El Paso Parks and Recreation Department in 2020, ending a 43-year career with the department.
Nov. 27, 2025: Aarón Sánchez, celebrity chef, cookbook author and restauranteur.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Amigo Man named grand marshal of 2026 Sun Bowl Parade
Reporting by Trish Long, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
