DETROIT – A new “It All Starts Here!” float will make its debut in this year’s America’s Thanksgiving Parade presented by Gardner White. Gardner White became the presenting sponsor of Detroit’s beloved Parade in 2020.
“We are incredibly grateful to Gardner White for their generosity to our community and presenting sponsorship of America’s Thanksgiving Parade,” said Tony Michaels, President and CEO, The Parade Company.
Hundreds of Gardner White employees and President Rachel Stewart gathered at The Parade Company to unveil the first new float of the parade season.
“Gardner White is a very special part of The Parade Company family and we have a remarkable partnership of celebrating everything great about our city and state.” “Our Gardner White family looks forward to Thanksgiving morning in Detroit with great excitement along with the millions of families across Michigan and the United States,” said Rachel Stewart, President of Gardner White. “Partnering with The Parade Company every year to officially kick off the holiday season with Michigan’s most iconic event is a privilege and a thrill.”
“It All Starts Here!” is meant to represent some of the “firsts” of Detroit, including the first tri-colored traffic light, first urban freeway, first mile of paved road in America, first police dispatch radio and first Van Gogh painting to enter a museum collection.
There are spinning music records on the float that are six feet in diameter with labels featuring some of the founding artists of the Detroit electronic music movement. The float has animated screens on a mixing board, traffic lights that light up and a Gardner White chair that is 25′ high. There’s also a coney dog that is 5′ long.
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America’s Thanksgiving Parade® presented by Gardner White
Voted as America’s Number One Holiday Parade by the 2018 and 2019 USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards, America’s Thanksgiving Parade® presented by Gardner White takes place on Thursday, November 24. WDIV-Local 4′s live coverage begins at 6 a.m. with pre-parade coverage, followed by a parade pre-show beginning at 9 a.m.
America’s Thanksgiving Parade® presented by Gardner White will air live on WDIV-Local 4 from 10 a.m. – noon, including a one-hour syndicated national broadcast from 10 a.m. -11 a.m. reaching more than 185 television markets across the country.
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