America's Thanksgiving Parade: Detroit celebrates autumn holiday

The weather may have been frightful but the floats, bands and crowds were delightful Thursday as Detroit kicked off the holiday season with its annual America's Thanksgiving Parade downtown.

Gray clouds covered metro Detroit skies as a light drizzle fell into the city streets and there was a chill in the air. 

The parade rolled down Woodward Avenue on Thursday to celebrate the autumn holiday. People from all across Michigan gathered to watch the traditional character balloons, decorative floats, marching bands and dance teams, and of course, to see Santa Claus.

Mayor Mike Duggan joined with Old St. Nick to wish Detroiters a happy Thanksgiving, and to remind attendees to keep smiling. Duggan also gave Santa a key to the city as they both wished everyone a Merry Christmas. 

While downtown Detroit didn’t exhibit perfect parade weather, a little rain didn’t scare away spectators. 

“It's not been nearly as cold or rainy, as I was expecting," said Sean Quigley. 

Quigley, an attendee at the parade, brought his daughters Kat and Emily to enjoy the celebration, but this isn’t their first rodeo. They have gone to see the parade for the past four or five years, the father said.

“I think it was probably Kermit the Frog,” Sean Quigley said, when asked about his favorite balloon. “It was kind of big and exciting, and then almost came down across the street right where we were, too, so there was some drama as well.”

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Kayla Brown, who lives in Wyandotte but attends North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University, said it was fun to see the parade and be home with friends and family again. 

“I'm freshly home from college, so my family traditionally comes to the parade,” Brown said. “So I was very excited to come and see all the floats and the people and just enjoy being home.”

In 2020, the parade was limited because of the severity of the pandemic, causing a piece of Thanksgiving tradition in the city to be absent. Paradegoer and Detroit resident Nia Pasha said it makes the holidays feel more present.

“I didn't get a chance to see the Thanksgiving parade last year due to COVID, so it's really exciting to get back and see the parade, see the kids, get festive, feel festive, feel like it's actually Thanksgiving,” she said.

America's Thanksgiving Parade is a Detroit tradition that the city and its residents missed. Now it's time to tend to the turkeys, get to the greens, and have fun with the family.