Parades & fireworks / Midtown and Downtown (Woodward Avenue)
America's Thanksgiving Parade
Detroit's Thanksgiving morning tradition since 1924: floats, marching bands, giant papier-mache heads and clowns down Woodward Avenue. Free curbside viewing.
01 / The story of this place
Make time for these
J. L. Hudson's department store launched Detroit's Thanksgiving parade in 1924, and only Philadelphia's Thanksgiving parade is older. On Thanksgiving morning it steps off at Woodward and Kirby in Midtown and rolls about 90 minutes south to Congress Street downtown. The floats are built year-round at The Parade Company's workshop, and two units are pure Detroit: the Big Head Corps in oversized papier-mache heads and the Distinguished Clown Corps, local execs and community leaders in full clown gear. The 100th parade steps off November 26, 2026, so this is the year to bundle up and grab a curb early.
- The 100th parade on November 26, 2026
- Floats, balloons and marching bands down Woodward
- The Big Head Corps' giant papier-mache heads
- The Distinguished Clown Corps
- The Turkey Trot run the same morning
A closer look
Photos were taken at different times; images are resized and cropped on cards.
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Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-10-01
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
Events at this place
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Official website & visitor information ↗Keep exploring
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