The City of Stamford officially kicked off the holiday season with the annual Stamford Downtown Parade Spectacular.

It's one of the largest events of its kind in the country – and Fairfield County residents say they are lucky to have it in their own backyard.

"We came to this parade – it was a lot of fun like 10 years ago," said Nicolas Cloutier, who used to live in Stamford but now lives in Newtown, "Before we got married, we were dating here."

This year, he and his wife, Megan Cloutier, drove down with their two daughters to share the festive experience.

Despite windy conditions, all 15 giant helium balloons flew high as crowds asked volunteers to spin them.

The balloons featured characters like Oscar the Grouch, a Muppet from “Sesame Street,” Po from the movie “Kung Fu Panda” and Scooby-Doo to name a few.

There were also dance teams and marching bands from as far as Philadelphia. The event is known to bring in thousands of spectators from near and far every year.