America’s Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit: Start time, route, where to watch

America’s Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit is a feast for the eyes before the feast at the table. With celebrity appearances, clowns, balloons, marching bands and the legendary parade floats — it’s enough fun to attract tens of thousands of excited spectators each year.

The renowned annual parade presented by Gardner White is now in its 98th year. The 2024 Theme is “Miles of Smiles!”

What time does the Thanksgiving parade in Detroit start?

The parade kicks off at Woodward Avenue and Kirby Street in Midtown at 8:45 a.m. Thursday, according to The Parade Company, a Detroit-based nonprofit that produces America’s Thanksgiving Parade. It ends in downtown Detroit, past Campus Martius Park, just after noon.

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Detroit Thanksgiving parade route

The parade will march south along Woodward in a straight shot. The procession will go 3 miles from Kirby Avenue to Congress Street in the heart of downtown Detroit. According to a map of the route, the parade officially ends at Congress and Woodward.

Where to view Detroit’s Thanksgiving parade

The event is free to attend along the parade route, but finding a spot might be difficult. Some venues are hosting watch parties.

While tickets to watch parties by the Parade Company, University of Michigan, Presley’s Kitchen and others have sold out, The Whitney still has some third-floor tickets available to the Annual Thanksgiving Parade Brunch.

A third-floor ticket to The Whitney brunch and watch party is $134 plus fees and can only be purchased online. Tickets for children 10 and under cost $99. Sales close on Monday. It includes access to a breakfast buffet and viewing the parade from the third floor of the iconic mansion and high-end restaurant.

As of Saturday morning, less than 20 third-floor tickets were available, and adult and child tickets were sold out, according to The Whitney.

How to watch on TV

Can’t make it downtown to see the parade? Don’t worry, the event will be on live TV, streamed online and commentated on the radio.

TV stations covering the parade include WDIV-TV (Local 4). A live stream will be hosted on clickondetroit.com and a live commentary will be provided on WOMC 104.3 FM. For hopeful viewers outside of the Detroit area, the parade is syndicated across 185 markets. According to The Parade Company, a full station list will be available Monday.

Detroit Turkey Trot 2024

Looking to burn a couple of calories before the Thanksgiving feast on Thursday? Along with the parade festivities, the annual Turkey Trot will kick off on Thanksgiving day. There is a variety of events being offered, including a 10K, 5K and a 1-mile run. Runners are encouraged to run in costumes.

The 10K and 1-mile run kicks off at 7:30 a.m., and the 5K begins an hour later at 8:30 a.m.

To register for the race, use The Parade Company’s online sign-up portal here.

More: Detroit marathon marked by love and loss: A finish-line embrace and a mile 5 tragedy

Road closures

Because of the parade and the Turkey Trot, many roads in midtown and downtown will be closed during the day. Detours will begin on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, and detours and closures will be lifted by 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving day.

The largest closure will be Woodward Avenue, which will be closed from 8 a.m. Wednesday until 5 p.m. on Thursday along the parade route.

Grand River Avenue, Jefferson Avenue and Gratiot Avenue will all be closed and detoured on Thanksgiving day. To see the full list of closures, visit the city of Detroit’s list of route updates for the holiday week here.

Parking

Parking will be available along the parade route, according to the Parade Company. In 2023, the city of Detroit recommended the following garages: Ford Underground Garage at 30 E. Jefferson Avenue and the Eastern Market Garage at 2727 Riopelle Street

Nour Rahal is a trending and breaking news reporter. Email her: nrahal@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @nrahal1.

Liam Rappleye is a trending and breaking news reporter. Email him: LRappleye@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 2024 America’s Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit: Start time, route, more

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