America's Thanksgiving Parade (officially America's Thanksgiving Parade presented by Gardner-White for 2020) is an annual American

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

held in downtown

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

each

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden a ...

from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EST. The tradition was started in the city in 1924 by the J. L. Hudson Company department store. It shares the title for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with the

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and is four years younger than the 6abc Dunkin' Thanksgiving Day Parade in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

History

The idea came from Hudson's display director Charles Wendel after the success of the Canadian Eaton's Santa Claus Parade in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. In addition to the usual floats and bands, Wendel obtained large

papier-mâché upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti upright=1.3, Papier-mâché Catrinas, traditional figures for day of the dead celebrations in Mexico Papier-mâché (, ; , literally "chewed paper") is a composite material consisting of p ...

heads similar to those he saw during a recent trip to Europe. The heads are made in

Viareggio Viareggio () is a city and ''comune'' in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. With a population of over 62,000, it is the second largest city within the province of Lucca, after Lucca. It is known as a seaside resort as ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, and remain a fixture of the parade to the present. The parade was suspended in 1943 and 1944 due to material shortages caused by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, but Hudson's resumed the event in 1945 and continued sponsorship of the parade until 1979, when the costs became burdensome. It turned the parade over to th
Detroit Renaissance Foundation
who produced it for four years. In 1983, Detroit Renaissance transferred control of the parade to the newly created Michigan Thanksgiving Parade Foundation. "America's Thanksgiving Parade" is a registered trademark of the foundation. In 2020, this parade is modified as the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

persists; with no crowds. As of July 2020, the parade organisers still plan on holding the parade in some form, with

Gardner-White Gardner-White Furniture Company Inc. is an American furniture retailer. Founded in 1912, Gardner White Furniture Co. is based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. History Gardner-White was founded by Eugene Clinton White and John G. Gardner. Irwin Kahn b ...

buying presenting sponsor rights.

Parade details

The parade features a variety of floats, marching bands and balloons, with the climax being the arrival of

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

, who appears at the end to herald the arrival of the

Christmas season The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...

. Unique to the parade are the Big Head Corps, featuring a large collection of papier-mâché heads, and the Distinguished Clown Corps, which features local corporate and community leaders dressed as clowns. The parade is made possible through the efforts of more than 4,500 volunteers.

Broadcasts

The parade was first broadcast in 1931 on radio station WWJ. In 1959, the parade came to television on local stations

WWJ-TV WWJ-TV (channel 62) is a television station in Detroit, Michigan, United States, owned and operated by the CBS television network. Under common ownership with CW affiliate WKBD-TV under the network's CBS News and Stations group, both statio ...

and

WXYZ-TV WXYZ-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Independent station (North America), independent st ...

. The WXYZ program was hosted by

ventriloquist Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is v ...

and

puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, called a puppet, to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from ...

Shari Lewis Shari Lewis (born Phyllis Naomi Hurwitz; January 17, 1933 – August 2, 1998) was a Peabody-winning American ventriloquist, puppeteer, children's entertainer, television show host, dancer, singer, actress, author, and symphonic conductor. She wa ...

and her

sock puppet A sock puppet or sockpuppet is a puppet made from a sock or a similar garment. The puppeteer wears the sock on a hand and lower arm as if it were a glove, with the puppet's mouth being formed by the region between the sock's heel and toe, and ...

Lamb Chop and carried nationally on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

broadcast network. In 1960, the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

broadcast network began to air portions of the parade and continued to do so for the next 25 parades. After a brief break in the mid-1980s, CBS returned to cover the parade through 2002 as part of its ''All-American Thanksgiving Day Parade'' compilation show. Over the years, several other well-known personalities were commentators for the Detroit parades, including

John Amos John Allen Amos Jr. (born December 27, 1939) is an American actor known for his role as James Evans Sr. on the CBS television series ''Good Times''. Amos's other television work includes ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', a recurring role as Admi ...

Ned Beatty Ned Thomas Beatty (July 6, 1937 – June 13, 2021) was an American actor and comedian. In a career that spanned five decades, he appeared in more than 160 films. Throughout his career, Beatty gained a reputation for being "the busiest actor in ...

Kathy Garver Kathleen Marie Garver is an American actress most remembered for having portrayed the teenaged orphan, Catherine "Cissy" Davis, on the popular 1960s CBS sitcom, ''Family Affair''. Before that, she was cast by Cecil B. DeMille in the film ''T ...

, ''

Captain Kangaroo ''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television program ...

'' host

Bob Keeshan Robert James Keeshan (June 27, 1927 – January 23, 2004) was an American television producer and actor. He created and played the title role in the children's television program '' Captain Kangaroo'', which ran from 1955 to 1984, the longes ...

Linda Lavin Linda Lavin (born October 15, 1937) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing the title character in the sitcom '' Alice'' and for her stage performances, both on and off-Broadway. After acting as a child, Lavin joined the Co ...

Esther Rolle Esther Elizabeth Rolle (November 8, 1920 – November 17, 1998) was an American actress. She is best known for her role as Florida Evans, on the CBS television sitcom '' Maude,'' for two seasons (1972–1974), and its spin-off series ''Go ...

and Andrew Stevens. After being broadcast on WWJ, later

WDIV WDIV-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, United States, affiliated with NBC. It serves as the Flagship (broadcasting), flagship broadcast property of the Graham Media Group subsidiary of Graham Holdings, Graham ...

, for over 20 years, local coverage switched to WXYZ for several years in the 1980s before returning to

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

-affiliate WDIV in the mid-1990s. It is televised on other stations around Michigan and across the U.S., as well as through

Internet television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air a ...

. The coverage of the parade typically includes a preshow featuring a variety of musical acts, often with celebrity performers. The coverage concludes with the

Mayor of Detroit This is a list of mayors of Detroit, Michigan. See History of Detroit, Michigan, for more information about the history of the incorporation of the city. The current mayor is Mike Duggan, who was sworn into office on January 1, 2014. History o ...

giving Santa Claus the

key to the city The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

Parade route

Since 2014, the parade has started just north of Warren, at Kirby and

Woodward Avenue A woodward is a Game warden, warden of a wood. Woodward may also refer to: Places ;United States * Woodward, Iowa * Woodward, Oklahoma * Woodward, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place * Woodward Avenue, a street in Tallahassee, Florida, which b ...

in front of the

Detroit Historical Museum The Detroit Historical Museum is located at 5401 Woodward Avenue in the city's Cultural Center Historic District in Midtown Detroit. It chronicles the history of the Detroit area from cobblestone streets, 19th century stores, the auto assembly li ...

and the Park Shelton. You can see the current parade route o
The Parade Company's website
Prior to 2014, since 2006, the parade began at Woodward and Mack Avenues. The parade ends at Congress Street. The Mack to Congress route is the route the first parade followed in 1924. The parade travels toward downtown from Mack Avenue, and after crossing over Interstate 75 I-75), it enters Foxtown, near Detroit's Fox Theatre, the Hockeytown Cafe, and

Comerica Park Comerica Park is a baseball stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It has been the home of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers since 2000, when the team left Tiger Stadium. History Construction Founded in 1894, the Tigers had played at the ...

. From Foxtown, the parade passes through

Grand Circus Park The Grand Circus Park Historic District contains the Grand Circus Park in Downtown Detroit, Michigan that connects the theatre district with its financial district. It is bisected by Woodward Avenue, four blocks north of Campus Martius Park, ...

then into the business district, where it then enters the television coverage area near Grand River and Gratiot avenues. The route was from this route for several years during the construction of

Campus Martius Park Campus Martius Park ( ') is a re-established park in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. After the fire of 1805, Campus Martius (from the Latin for ''Field of Mars'', where Roman heroes walked) was the focal point of Judge Augustus Woodward's plans t ...

and the realignment of Woodward Avenue and other adjacent streets. The construction was completed in 2004. For many years, ending with Hudson's withdrawal in 1979, the parade began at Woodward and Putnam near the

Detroit Public Library The Detroit Public Library is the second largest library system in the U.S. state of Michigan by volumes held (after the University of Michigan Library) and the 21st-largest library system (and the fourth-largest public library system) in the Uni ...

and ended at Hudson's Marquee near Gratiot Avenue, where Santa alighted his sleigh and received the key to the hearts of children of Detroit from the mayor. In 1979, the route was moved several blocks north, beginning at Antoinette Street and ending at Adams Street, near Grand Circus Park. During this period, Santa alighted on the steps of the

Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the list of largest art museums, largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation a ...

to be welcomed by the mayor, then remounted to travel the remainder of the parade route. For a period, the parade route was moved to Second Avenue because electrical wires that powered the Woodward Avenue streetcars posed a hazard to floats and their riders. Streetcars ceased operating on Woodward Avenue in 1956 when the Detroit Department of Street Railways converted to an all-motor-bus fleet.

Parade foundation

The Michigan Thanksgiving Parade Foundation began in 1982 to manage, organize and raise funds for the parade. In 1990, The Parade Company was founded as a foundation division to oversee operations and marketing activities. In addition to the parade, The Parade Company assumed responsibility for organizing the annual Windsor-Detroit International Freedom Festival in 1989 and helped to plan

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

victory parades for the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008.

References

External links

theparade.org
The Parade Company's official website (the marketing and operating division of The Michigan Thanksgiving Parade Foundation, the parade's organiser)
WDIV Thanksgiving Day Parade page
{{Thanksgiving 1924 establishments in Michigan American Broadcasting Company original programming American annual television specials Annual events in Michigan CBS television specials Culture of Detroit Parades in the United States Recurring events established in 1924 Television in Detroit Thanksgiving parades Tourist attractions in Detroit Festivals established in 1924