Detroit’s 99th annual America’s Thanksgiving Parade® will bring star power and hometown pride to Woodward Avenue on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 27, 2025. This year’s parade, themed “Thanksgiving is Better in Detroit!,” features Grand Marshals Mayor Mike Duggan and retired WDIV anchor Devin Scillian leading a star-studded lineup of Detroit icons and entertainers. Emmy-winning actor Sam Richardson, “Shooter McGavin” actor Christopher McDonald, Detroit Lions legend Dexter Bussey, and Miss Michigan 2025 Hannah Palmer are among the celebrity guests joining the giant floats and balloons. Parade-goers can also look forward to eight new floats (including a giant “Big Head” tribute to Tigers hero Kirk Gibson), a Broadway opening performance from The Lion King, beloved mascots like Roary and Paws, and of course Santa Claus bringing holiday magic at the finale. Here’s an in-depth look at what to expect, how to watch, and tips for enjoying Detroit’s favorite holiday tradition.
The Parade Company, Facebook
A Detroit Tradition 99 Years and Counting
Detroit’s Thanksgiving Parade is more than just an event, it’s a cherished tradition that has connected generations of Metro Detroiters for nearly a century. The very first parade rolled down Woodward Avenue in 1924, the same year as the inaugural Macy’s parade in New York. Started by the old J.L. Hudson’s department store, Detroit’s parade quickly became the official kickoff to the holiday season for Michigan families. Each Thanksgiving morning, bundled-up crowds line Woodward Avenue to watch as marching bands, colorful floats, enormous character balloons, and local celebrities parade through Downtown. The spectacle has only grown over the decades, from just four floats and a few bands in the 1920s to entertaining hundreds of thousands of spectators in person today.
As Detroit prepares for the 99th annual parade in 2025, there’s a special excitement in the air. Next year will mark the 100th anniversary of this beloved event, underscoring how deeply rooted it is in the city’s culture. “Thanksgiving is a magical day in Detroit, it simply doesn’t get any better,” says Tony Michaels, president & CEO of The Parade Company, which organizes the event. Under the stewardship of The Parade Company (a nonprofit governed by the Michigan Thanksgiving Parade Foundation), the parade continues to thrive with community support and corporate sponsors. Furniture retailer Gardner White is the presenting sponsor, extending its support through 2025. Year after year, Detroit’s Thanksgiving Parade remains one of America’s premier holiday parades, broadcast to millions nationwide and treasured by locals as an irreplaceable part of Thanksgiving in the Motor City.
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Star-Studded Lineup: Grand Marshals and Celebrity Guests
One of the big draws each year is the lineup of Grand Marshals and celebrity guests, and 2025’s roster might be one of the most exciting yet. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and beloved former Local 4 news anchor Devin Scillian will serve as Grand Marshals, leading the parade down Woodward. It’s a fitting honor, Scillian spent 28 years delivering Thanksgiving morning coverage of this parade on WDIV-TV, and now in retirement he’ll ride at the front alongside the city’s mayor. Both Grand Marshals embody Detroit’s community spirit and will be greeted with huge cheers from the crowd.
Following close behind are a host of familiar faces and Detroit icons making special appearances:
- Sam Richardson – a Detroit-born, Emmy Award-winning actor and comedian known for “Detroiters,” “Veep,” and “Ted Lasso.” Richardson brings Hollywood star power with a hometown touch, and he couldn’t be more excited to celebrate in his hometown.
- Christopher McDonald – the actor forever famous as “Shooter McGavin” from Happy Gilmore. McDonald has a long list of film and TV credits (Thelma & Louise, Hacks, etc.) and will surely delight fans with a wave and a grin.
- Dexter Bussey – a Detroit Lions legend who played 11 seasons (1974–1984) as a running back. Bussey remains a hero to Lions fans and represents Detroit’s proud sports heritage.
- Hannah Palmer (Miss Michigan 2025) – a third-grade teacher from Ann Arbor who recently earned the Miss Michigan crown. Palmer is noted for her community service work and will add a touch of pageant sparkle to the parade.
These special guests will ride on floats or vehicles, greeting the crowds. It’s always a thrill for parade-goers (and TV viewers) to spot famous Detroiters and entertainers in the procession. And the celebrity lineup doesn’t end there, SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star will appear as larger-than-life character balloons or costumes, delighting kids and grown-ups alike. With a new SpongeBob movie on the way this winter, the beloved Nickelodeon characters’ visit to Detroit is perfectly timed. Not to be outdone, a roster of team mascots will also bring the fun: Roary (Detroit Lions) and PAWS (Detroit Tigers) are set to pump up the crowd with Detroit sports pride, and the Pistons’ mascot Hooper along with the Motor City Cruise’s Nitro will showcase some athletic mascot antics as they join the parade route.
Of course, Santa Claus himself is the traditional finale of Detroit’s Thanksgiving Parade, signaling the official start of the holiday season. As always, Santa will roll down Woodward in the last float, waving to all and ushering in Christmas cheer. For generations, Detroit’s parade hasn’t been complete until the “real Santa” appears at the end – a tradition dating back to the Hudson’s days – and 2025 will be no exception.
The Parade Company, Facebook
Eight New Floats and Giant Balloons Debuting in 2025
Every year the parade features a mix of classic floats that Detroiters know and love, along with a slate of brand-new floats that bring fresh imagination to the festivities. In 2025, The Parade Company has built eight new floats set to make their debut. While the specifics of these new float designs are being kept under wraps until their official unveiling, parade insiders promise they will be show-stoppers, filled with colorful creativity and Detroit flavor. Recent years’ floats have highlighted everything from Detroit’s automotive heritage to whimsical winter wonderlands, so spectators can’t wait to see what surprises roll out this Thanksgiving.
One special new addition already announced is a giant “Big Head” papier-mâché sculpture honoring Detroit Tigers legend Kirk Gibson. The Parade Company’s Big Head Corps, a volunteer group that maintains the world’s largest collection of papier-mâché heads, creates oversized caricature heads of famous figures. For 2025 they’ve crafted a Kirk Gibson head to celebrate the World Series champion turned broadcaster. Look for this towering Tiger head among the processional, carried by a member of the Big Head Corps and nodding to one of Detroit’s sports heroes. (In past parades, Big Head Corps has featured local icons like Aretha Franklin and Motown characters, so Gibson joins a fun and illustrious club.)
The parade will also showcase its signature giant helium balloons, some soaring five stories tall above Woodward Avenue. Expect to see returning favorites, perhaps a towering Kermit the Frog or a gigantic vintage cartoon character, alongside new balloon characters making their first flight. These balloons are a logistics marvel, guided by teams of volunteer handlers. In 2025, fan favorites SpongeBob and Patrick (as noted) will be part of the balloon lineup, bringing a dose of cartoon fun to the morning. Along with them, dozens of marching bands from local high schools and around the country will fill the air with music, and costumed clowns (including the 200-strong Distinguished Clown Corps of community leaders in goofy attire) will interact with the crowd handing out candy and high-fives. The combination of floats, balloons, clowns, marching bands, and performers makes Detroit’s parade a feast for the eyes and ears, a live street spectacle that rivals any in the nation.
“Thanksgiving is Better in Detroit!” – Theme and Opening Performance
Each year’s parade carries an official theme, and 2025’s theme is “Thanksgiving is Better in Detroit!”, a proud slogan celebrating the city’s unmatched Thanksgiving traditions. Metro Detroiters have long known that our Thanksgiving Day isn’t just about turkey and football, but also about coming together downtown for this joyous parade. The theme will likely be reflected in float designs and parade signage, reinforcing that there’s no place like Detroit on Thanksgiving morning.
Living up to that theme, the 2025 parade will kick off with a show-stopping Broadway-caliber opening performance. Just before the floats begin rolling, audiences will be treated to a live number from Disney’s The Lion King musical, specifically, a performance of the iconic song “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”. Two Broadway stars from the show’s cast, Syndee Winters and Darian Sanders, will perform the duet on Woodward Avenue to open the parade. This special performance ties in with the Broadway musical’s return to Detroit (the hit production is slated to run at the Detroit Opera House in early 2026). The stirring music by Elton John and Tim Rice, combined with the talent of the performers in full Lion King costumes, is sure to give the crowd goosebumps and set an inspirational tone for the festivities. Detroit’s parade often features such theatrical openings or local choir performances, but a Lion King number brings extra star power this year.
Throughout the parade, expect more musical treats and dance performances. Many floats come with their own soundtracks or live performers aboard. Local dance troupes and cheer teams will likely join in the procession, keeping energy high. And as always, the marching bands, from Detroit Cass Tech to out-of-state bands who travel here, will play everything from holiday classics to pop hits, enlivening the route. By the time Santa arrives at the finale to the tune of “Here Comes Santa Claus” or a similar song, there’s no doubt everyone will be feeling that Detroit holiday spirit.
When, Where, and How to Watch the Parade
Thanksgiving Parade Date: Mark your calendar for Thursday, November 27, 2025, Thanksgiving Day, for Detroit’s big parade. The event steps off rain or shine (or even snow) on Thanksgiving morning.
Start Time: The parade officially starts at 8:45 a.m. Eastern Time, when the first units step onto the route at Woodward Avenue and Kirby St. (in Midtown). However, festivities begin earlier: many spectators arrive before sunrise, and local TV coverage on WDIV starts with pre-parade shows as early as 6:00 a.m.. The “parade proper” then runs approximately from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon Eastern. During that window, all the floats, bands, and performers make their way down the route, and the broadcast runs live.
Parade Route: The route is the traditional straight shot down Woodward Avenue, spanning about 2.9 miles through the heart of Detroit. It begins at Woodward & Kirby in Midtown (near the Detroit Institute of Arts and Detroit Historical Museum) and proceeds south down Woodward, past landmarks like Little Caesars Arena, the Fox Theatre, Comerica Park, and Campus Martius Park, finally ending near Woodward & Congress just south of Campus Martius in downtown. Essentially, the parade traverses the length of Woodward through downtown. If you’re attending in person, you can pick any spot along Woodward between Kirby and Campus Martius to see the action, the entire route is open and free to the public.
Television Broadcast: Locally, WDIV Local 4 (NBC) is the exclusive TV partner and broadcasts the parade live in its entirety. Their coverage runs from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET on Thanksgiving, with a televised pre-show from 6–9 a.m. featuring behind-the-scenes looks and performances. If you’re in Metro Detroit, tuning into Channel 4 is the easiest way to watch from home. For those elsewhere in the U.S., the parade is also syndicated, more than 185 television markets across the country carry a one-hour special broadcast of Detroit’s Thanksgiving Parade (typically airing 10–11 a.m. in each market). This national coverage has grown in recent years, spreading Detroit’s parade joy to millions of viewers coast to coast. In fact, Detroit’s event is consistently rated among the nation’s best and largest parades, so it’s great to see it getting nationwide attention.
Streaming and Online: In 2024, WDIV introduced a “Parade Zone” multi-camera livestream on YouTube, and it’s back for 2025. This means you can watch the parade online with multiple camera angles (for example, one camera at the start, one at a mid-point, one at the TV zone, etc.) simultaneously. Check WDIV’s YouTube page or ClickOnDetroit.com on Thanksgiving morning for the “Parade Zone” stream. This is a fun option if you want to control your view of the parade or if you’re a die-hard fan who can’t get enough. Social media will also be abuzz with parade photos and live clips, follow The Parade Company’s official accounts for real-time highlights.
Radio Broadcast: If you prefer an audio experience (or want to listen while cooking Thanksgiving dinner), tune into Detroit’s WJR 760 AM or WOMC 104.3 FM on parade morning. Both stations will broadcast live parade coverage and commentary. Longtime radio personality Paul W. Smith typically hosts WJR’s parade coverage, describing each float and interviewing special guests on the air. Listening on the radio can feel nostalgic and is handy if you’re on the go.
The Parade Company, Facebook
Tips for Attending the Parade in Person
Thinking of heading downtown to catch the parade curbside? Attending Detroit’s Thanksgiving Parade in person is memorable and family-friendly, but a little planning goes a long way. Here are some pro tips from a lifelong Michigander for a great parade-day experience:
- Arrive Early for Good Spots: Plan to arrive well before 8:00 a.m. if you want a prime viewing spot along Woodward. Crowds build quickly, especially downtown near Campus Martius and Grand Circus Park. Many families get there as early as 6–7 a.m. with chairs and blankets. The beginning of the route (around Kirby in Midtown) is usually less crowded than the downtown end, so that’s an option for a quieter experience.
- Dress Warm and Layer Up: Late November in Detroit can be frigid. Morning temperatures during the parade are often in the 20s or 30s °F. Wear layers, winter coats, hats, and gloves for everyone, especially kids. Hand warmers and blankets are great to have. You’ll be standing outside for several hours, so comfort is key.
- Parking and Transit: Downtown street parking will be scarce due to road closures on Woodward. Consider parking a few blocks away (near Cass or Washington Blvd, for example) and walking in. Public garages in Midtown (near the DIA) or New Center are an option and you can take the QLine streetcar to get closer to downtown, the QLine runs along Woodward and is free to ride, though expect it to be crowded on parade morning. The Detroit People Mover (elevated train) typically operates for free on Thanksgiving as well, making a loop around downtown which can help you move to a different spot or get back to your car.
- Food, Drinks, and Restrooms: Pack a thermos of hot chocolate or coffee to stay warm (and hydrated). There are usually vendors selling coffee, donuts, and snacks along the route as well. Keep in mind public restrooms are limited, some businesses and porta-potties might be available, but it’s best to plan accordingly (go before you arrive, and know that leaving your spot means someone else might take it).
- Enjoy the Turkey Trot: Before the parade, Detroit hosts the Strategic Staffing Solutions Turkey Trot, a series of 10K, 5K, and one-mile fun runs that start around 7:30 am. Runners dressed in turkey hats, pilgrim costumes, and other festive gear will race through downtown. If you arrive early, you can cheer them on! It’s a great way to kick off the morning and adds to the festive atmosphere.
- Consider Grandstand Tickets: While standing along Woodward is free, you can also purchase grandstand seating for a fee if you want a guaranteed seat and an unobstructed view (these are bleachers typically set up near Campus Martius). Grandstand tickets can be bought through the Parade’s official website (theparade.org) and often sell out in advance. This can be a good option for families with small kids or anyone who’d rather not stand for hours.
- Plan for After the Parade: Once Santa’s sleigh passes by around noon, the downtown party isn’t necessarily over. Many parade-goers head home for Thanksgiving dinner, but others stick around downtown. Detroit Lions football kicks off at 12:30 p.m. at Ford Field. If you’re going to the game, the parade makes a perfect pre-game event (just join the crowds walking toward the stadium after Santa goes by). Some downtown restaurants open early on Thanksgiving for brunch or lunch. If you’d rather dine out, consider making a reservation. And if you’re already in the holiday spirit, Campus Martius Park will have its giant Christmas tree up (the official tree lighting usually happens just before or after Thanksgiving). It’s a lovely spot to snap some post-parade photos with family.
By following these tips, arriving early, bundling up, and soaking in the fun, you’ll create lasting memories at the parade. Detroit’s welcoming community vibe is on full display at this event, so smile and chat with the folks next to you. You’ll be surrounded by families, groups of friends, and neighbors from all over Metro Detroit, all brought together by the shared joy of this annual celebration.
If you want a great meal after the parade, explore our Thanksgiving dining guide with top picks along Woodward and nearby neighborhoods
Why Thanksgiving is Truly “Better in Detroit”
What makes Detroit’s Thanksgiving Parade so special? Part of it is our city’s resilience and community spirit. The parade continued through decades of change, from its Hudson’s origins, through different sponsors (remember the Art Van era), even a TV-only edition in 2020, because Detroiters love it and support it. It’s a free, accessible event that anyone can enjoy, whether you’re a new arrival or a lifelong resident. Many local families have stories of parents and grandparents who attended the parade in their youth and now take the next generation. It’s this continuity that makes the event feel like a giant family reunion on Woodward Avenue each year.
Detroit’s parade is also unique in the way it blends big-city spectacle with hometown touches. You have massive balloons and famous performers, yet you also have high school marching bands from suburbs like Ferndale or Novi, and clowns who might be the local business owner or dentist dressed in makeup raising money for charity. The route showcases our beautiful city architecture and revitalized downtown, reminding viewers that Detroit is alive with pride and creativity. And unlike parades in some other cities, Detroit’s is very participatory, the crowds are loud and enthusiastic, calling out to the mascots or clowns they recognize, singing along to bands, and truly becoming part of the experience.
Love Detroit’s Thanksgiving Parade? Here are more Metro Detroit holiday parades worth putting on your calendar
Finally, consider the economic and cultural impact: the parade draws visitors to downtown, fills hotels with out-of-town marching band families, and shines a national spotlight on Detroit in a positive, family-friendly way. It’s annually recognized as one of the best parades in America, even winning USA Today’s “Best Holiday Parade” readers’ poll in recent years. For a city that doesn’t always get glowing national press, the Thanksgiving Parade is a source of genuine pride. It shows Detroit at its best, creative, welcoming, and celebratory.
As a Metro Detroit real estate professional, I’ve even seen how events like the parade can influence people’s decisions to live in the city or nearby. Our communities bond over these traditions. Neighborhoods from Novi to Grosse Pointe have residents waking up extra early to make the trek downtown. The parade is a reminder of the strong sense of community that Metro Detroit offers. If you’re new to the area or considering a move, experiencing the parade can be a heartwarming introduction to the region’s culture. It’s not just entertainment; it’s a reflection of the local values: family, gratitude, and coming together as a community.
In short, “Thanksgiving is Better in Detroit” because of this parade and all the traditions around it. It’s a day when Detroit truly shines. Whether you watch in person, tune in on TV, or catch highlights later, the 99th America’s Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit is sure to bring smiles, cheer, and plenty of Detroit pride. Don’t miss the chance to be part of it – and if you love the sense of community you feel, remember that this is just one of many incredible local traditions that make Detroit a special place to call home.
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