For about a month every winter, Laredo turns into one long celebration. Parades, pageants, the Jalapeño Festival, a carnival, concerts and fireworks, followed right after by the Laredo International Fair. Every one of those crowds needs restrooms, and so does every parade-route watch party, business open house and ranch cookout that piggybacks on them.
When is WBCA season, and how big does it get?
The Washington's Birthday Celebration runs about a month each year, from mid-January to late February, and draws about 400,000 people. WBCA includes two parades, the Jalapeño Festival, the Society of Martha Washington Colonial Pageant, the Princess Pocahontas pageant, an air show, a carnival, concerts and fireworks.
The Jalapeño Festival has run since 1978; the 2025 edition was held February 21–22 at the El Metro Park & Ride. Right after WBCA, the Laredo International Fair & Exposition fills the 1848 Event Center on Highway 59. In 2025, the 62nd fair ran February 24 through March 1. Put together, that is close to six weeks of events stacked onto the same trucks and units.
How early should I book restrooms for a WBCA event?
Book restrooms 3–4 weeks before any WBCA-season date, and 45 days or more if the event needs a county mass gathering permit. Parade weekends and the Jalapeño Festival weekend tie up the most units. Event dates are held once paid in full, and date changes are free with 24 hours' notice.
Same-day delivery still works in Laredo when you call by noon, Monday through Saturday. But same-day stock is standard units and hand-wash stations only, and during WBCA that stock can run out early in the day. Deluxe units, accessible units and restroom trailers need a reservation.
calls in our 2026 review landed in a holiday-weekend rush, when callers heard that units were almost gone. WBCA weekends run the same way in Laredo, so the early booker gets the unit type they asked for.
Source: 19 recorded porta potty rental calls reviewed by our office, 2026.How many porta potties does a WBCA party or festival need?
A 300-guest WBCA parade party running 6 hours with a bar needs 12 porta potties by our house method: 9 for the crowd at 1 per 35 guests, plus 3 for alcohol. One of the 12 should be wheelchair-accessible, and a party serving food adds 6 hand-wash stations, 1 per 2 toilets.
| Event | Crowd math | Alcohol | Total units | Accessible (in total) | Hand-wash (with food) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parade watch party, 150 guests, 4 hours | 150 ÷ 50 = 3 | +2 | 5 | 1 | 3 |
| Parade party or open house, 300 guests, 6 hours | 300 ÷ 35 = 9 | +3 | 12 | 1 | 6 |
| Community festival, 1,000 per day, 6 hours | 1,000 ÷ 35 = 29 | +10 | 39 | 2 | 20 |
As a cross-check, Hidalgo County's mass gathering policy caps crowds at 50 people per toilet seat, which would call for 20 seats at a 1,000-person event. Our count is higher because it accounts for event length and alcohol. Test your own crowd with the porta potty calculator.
How many wheelchair-accessible units should a public event have?
A public event should make at least 5% of its portable units wheelchair-accessible, with a minimum of 1 in each cluster, under the 2010 ADA Standards §213.2. A 39-unit festival therefore needs 2 accessible units. Our PolyJohn Comfort XL has a roll-in floor, no door sill and more than 16 square feet inside.
Read the standard at the U.S. Access Board. If your units sit in two clusters, say one by the stage and one by the food court, each cluster needs its own accessible unit. Put them on firm, level ground with a clear path from the walkway; a unit on soft dirt is not much help to a wheelchair user.
calls in our review came from a nonprofit festival expecting about 2,000 people on day one. The organizer had not planned an accessible unit until it was raised. We ask about accessibility on every event call.
Source: 19 recorded porta potty rental calls reviewed by our office, 2026.Do multi-day WBCA events need nightly service?
Multi-day WBCA events with heavy crowds should add nightly service, so each unit is pumped, cleaned and restocked between days. A unit that served 35 people over 6 hours on Saturday should not open Sunday as-is. Nightly service visits are priced per unit and listed on the same itemized event quote.
- Give us your closing time and who opens the gate for the service truck.
- Keep a service lane open behind the restroom row; the truck needs a path about 10–11 feet wide.
- Assign one volunteer to check paper and soap at midday and call dispatch if something runs low.
“We need Saturday night service. I don't want to put on gloves and clean.”
“They never called us back this last time, so we're just looking.”
“Can it be delivered when we're setting up tents the day before?”
Wording from recorded rental calls (19 calls reviewed, 2026), names removed. These are questions, not reviews.
Can porta potties go on the street along a parade route?
Porta potties for a parade party should go on private property, not on the street or sidewalk. Placing a unit in the City of Laredo right-of-way needs a city right-of-way permit pulled by a registered contractor, so we place units on private lots, driveways and parking areas. Keep 3 feet clear in front of every door.
Downtown businesses and homeowners near the parade route often have a side lot, a rear parking area or a driveway that works. Have the units delivered before the street closures start, since the truck cannot reach you once barricades go up. Thursday or Friday delivery and Monday pickup costs the same as a single day.
- Check closure times for your block and tell dispatch, so the drop happens before the barricades.
- Group the units where guests can find them without walking into the crowd.
- Lock-up plan: if the lot is open to the public during the parade, decide who keeps an eye on the units.
What about LIFE fair week at the 1848 Event Center?
LIFE fair week follows WBCA, so book any late-February event as early as a WBCA date. The 62nd fair ran February 24 to March 1, 2025, at the 1848 Event Center on Highway 59, with a livestock show, carnival and concerts. Ranch families may host gatherings that week, too.
Livestock show families and ranch hosts may need units at home or at a pasture while relatives are in town. Those rentals follow the same flat event price for 1–5 days on site. If the gathering is out on a ranch, send a map pin and the gate code, and warn us about cattle guards and caliche roads.
Does a large WBCA-season event need a permit?
A large event outside Laredo city limits may need a county permit under the Texas Mass Gatherings Act. Health and Safety Code Chapter 751 covers events with more than 2,500 people lasting over 5 hours or overnight, or more than 500 if most are under 21 with alcohol. Apply to the county judge 45 days ahead.
The full statute is on the Texas Legislature's site. For an event inside city limits, call City of Laredo 311 to confirm the current event permit process before you book anything. We do not give legal advice, but we can provide a unit list for your site plan once you know the rules.
Sizing a bigger crowd? Our special event restroom page covers layout, and the quinceañera checklist shows how long evening events change the count.