ORLANDO, Fla. — A group of Central Florida veterans is working on a special project together — assembling floats for Orlando’s 26th annual Veterans Day Parade on Saturday.

What You Need To Know

Orlando’s 26th annual Veterans Day Parade is Saturday, Nov. 8

This year, the parade is relocating to Lake Nona from downtown and steps off at 11 a.m.

Festive Floats, based in Polk County, has a group of veterans who works on floats for the parade

Bob Collins spent 22 years in the Navy. He enlisted in September 1971 and worked as a boiler operator before retiring in March 1993.

Collins works for Festive Floats, a company based in Fort Meade in Polk County. This week, he worked on wiring electrical boxes for a float so speakers and lights can get plugged in.

“After my military days, I’ve been a stationary engineer now for about the last 25 years working in hospitals, doing basically the same thing I was doing in the military,” Collins said.

This year, Festive Floats co-owner Billy Attix said his team is working on floats for Commissioner Jim Gray and the Orlando Veteran Affairs office.

“We’ve been working on the Veterans Parade for about three weeks,” Attix said. “We’re customizing some of our floats to make it military-based to honor those who have served, those who have lost their life.”

The parade is a long-running event for residents to remember and honor those who served our nation.

“We’re able to give back to the good, give back to humanity, bring that smile that somebody needs. Just an escape for five minutes of your normal life,” Attix said.

Collins said he enjoys pulling the floats and seeing people have a good time, while connecting with other veterans along the way.

“It’s kind of an honor, it really is, especially driving in the parade with the veterans on it and the Wounded Warrior people,” Collins said. “They do a lot of good work for the veterans.”

The long-standing tradition is moving from downtown Orlando to Lake Nona for the first time.

This year’s Veterans Day Parade will step off at 11 a.m. Saturday. The route starts at Laureate Park Elementary School and will finish at the Lake Nona Town Center.

A ceremony and more activities for families will follow.