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Detroit Thanksgiving Parade over the years

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Carmen Harlan and Mort Crim during the 1993 Thanksgiving parade in Detroit.

Tired of waiting patiently for America's Thanksgiving Parade? We've got you covered with list of every parade we could find in our vault.

The holiday season begins for most Michiganders when Santa Claus steps from the last float in the parade and accepts the key to the city. (How often do they change the locks?)

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The Michigan Thanksgiving Parade began marching down Woodward Avenue in 1924 and Santa has never missed one yet. Now known as America’s Thanksgiving Parade presented by Art Van, the parade was originally founded by J.L. Hudson’s downtown Detroit’s legendary department store. It was the same year that Macy’s began its parade in New York City.

The first year featured horses pulling a float decorated with Mother Goose, four papier-mache heads and seven marching bands.

The first televised parade was in 1948 and today it is broadcast nationally to more than 100 million viewers.

Looking for a specific year? They're all here, except 1991 and 2001. Those betamax tapes seem to be missing. Yes, betamax!


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