Thanksgiving Parade Will Feature Santa, Olympians, T-Rex, Bands

SILVER SPRING, MD — Montgomery County’s annual Thanksgiving Parade, the largest in the Washington, D.C. region, is set to kick off the holidays starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16. This year’s festivities will include marching bands, community floats, and local Olympians.

“The Thanksgiving Parade is a Montgomery County tradition that brings our community together to celebrate the start of the holiday season with friends, family and neighbors,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “This parade highlights the diversity and vibrancy that we love about Montgomery County.”

ABC7’s First Alert Weather Team’s Eileen Whelan will kick off the parade with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The parade route will start at Ellsworth Drive and Fenton Street, head south on Georgia Avenue and conclude at Silver Spring Avenue in downtown Silver Spring.

The parade lineup will have more than 150 units, including community groups, marching bands, vibrant floats, mascots and live performances by the Akhmedova Ballet Academy and Maryland Youth Ballet. Also, look for stilt walkers, a giant T-Rex and a penguin inflatable. There will be holiday characters including performing dogs, Hannukah bears, reindeer and Santa Claus.

Dance and marching band performances will occur near the parade’s starting point.

Athletes taking part include Thea LaFond of Dominica, who lives in Silver Spring, and set a national record for her birth country, winning the first Olympic gold medal for Dominica in the women’s triple jump in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Also appearing is Aaron Ghebre Owusu of Eritrea, who represented his homeland as he competed in the men’s 50-meter freestyle swim in Paris.

Thanksgiving Parade organizers are seeking volunteers 13 and older to participate as costumed characters, including elves and ribbon twirlers. Volunteers must be available from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and should report to the Silver Spring Civic Building at One Veterans Place in Silver Spring. For more details and to sign up, visit Volunteer for the Parade.

The parade will take place rain or shine. For more information, visit the official parade website or call 240-777-0311.

To accommodate the parade, road closures will be in place from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 16:

• North and Southbound lanes of Georgia Ave., from East-West Highway to Colesville Road.
• Cedar Street between Colesville Road and Wayne Avenue.
• Pershing Drive from Cedar Street to Veterans Place.
• Veterans Place from Pershing Drive to Ellsworth Drive.
• Ellsworth Drive from Georgia Avenue to Cedar Street.
• Roeder Road from Fenton Street to Cedar Street.
• Fenton Street from Cameron Street to Wayne Avenue.
• Wayne Avenue from Georgia Avenue to Fenton Street.
• Bonifant Street from Georgia Avenue to Fenton Street.
• Thayer Avenue from Georgia Avenue to Fenton Street.
• Silver Spring Avenue from Georgia Avenue to Fenton Street.

Public parking is available in garages on Sligo Avenue, Cameron Street and Bonifant Street. (The Ellsworth Town Center garage will close to the public at 2 a.m. on Nov. 16.) Attendees are encouraged to take the Metro Red Line to the Silver Spring Station for easy access to the parade route.