The City of McAllen is celebrating the South Pole Illuminated Festival with magical experiences for the holidays for the entire Rio Grande Valley community, through January 1, 2023, taking place at the McAllen Convention Center, 700 Convention Ctr. Blvd.

The event hosts the tallest RGB Christmas Tree in America, spanning over 10 stories tall. The digital red, green, blue color light model tree will be just one aspect of helping guests to experience a walking journey through millions of lights featuring: the McAllen Convention Center’s Illuminated Oval Park, featuring 24 new, giant color-changing trees, recreated snowfall and Santa’s Castle; a new South Pole & Beyond Lighted Lantern Exhibit, with over 100 new giant holiday and space-themed lanterns; photos with Santa; South Pole Express Train Rides; Gingerbread Village to craft very own gingerbread houses; Hot Chocolate and smores station; Holiday Food Court; NASA photo exhibit; the South Pole Artisan Market, to find favorite hand-crafted holiday gifts; a Holiday Carnival featuring a giant ferris wheel, a double decker carousel, and a rollercoaster; daily holiday concerts and community performances; and the South Pole Fireworks Spectacular show on the weekends.

This year, H-E-B is excited to celebrate beloved Latino holiday traditions with an event on Friday, December 30, where guests will be treated to H-E-B’s rosca, with warm H-E-B Café Ole.

Tickets are available at www.southpoleoftexas.com or at the McAllen Convention Center Box Office. Please follow the South Pole Illuminated Festival on social media for the full event calendar.

Finally, giveaway chances for tickets and other prizes are ready to kick off the South Pole Illuminated Festival. To enter, participants must decorate their home or office with all the Christmas cheer and post a photo on social media, using #southpoleoftexas. Ticket winners will be selected daily.