Detroit's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Everything You Need To Know

DETROIT — The 98th annual America’s Thanksgiving Parade returns to Downtown Detroit Thursday morning.

The parade, which is put on by The Parade Company and presented by Gardner White, draws hundreds of thousands of people each year.

Here is everything you need to know:

What Time Does The Parade Start?

Thursday's events start at 7:30 a.m. with the Turkey Trot, before the 5K Stuffing Strut starts at 8:30 a.m.

The parade starts on Woodward Avenue at Kirby in Midtown Detroit at 8:45 a.m. The parade is roughly an hour and a half march south down Woodward and it ends at Congress and Woodward.

There will be three grand marshals for this year's parade: Retiring U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, NBC sports announcer Mike Tirico and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan CEO Daniel Loepp.

Road Closures

Road closures for Turkey Trot from 5 a.m. to roughly 10 a.m. include:

• W. Jefferson from the Lodge Freeway to Cabacier 
• Michigan at Cass 
• Fort Street from Trumbull to Woodward 
• Congress from Shelby to Randolph 
• Larned from Shelby to Randolph 
• Shelby from Congress to Michigan 
• Michigan from Cass to Woodward 
• Monroe from Woodward to Randolph 
• Lafayette Blvd. from Trumbull to Griswold 
• Washington Blvd. from Adams to Congress 
• Atwater from Civic Center Dr. to Third 

These roads will be closed for the parade:

• Woodward between W. Grand Blvd and Warren to close at 9 a.m.
• Woodward from Warren to Congress to close at noon.
• Atwater between Civic Center Drive and Third to close at 3 p.m.
• Griswold between Fort and Congress to close at 6 p.m.

Motorists may cross Woodward at these intersections until 5 a.m. Crossover streets are: Warren, Alexandrine, MLK/Mack, Fisher Service Drive, Adams, Park/Witherall, John R/Clifford and Grand River.

Woodward from W. Grand Blvd. to Larned will be closed completely from 5 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

Detroit People Mover

The Detroit People Mover resumed operations Wednesday at 6:30 a.m. and will run non-stop until 7:00 p.m. Thursday. It was closed down for the last 11 weeks for maintenance.

DDOT Bus Reroutes

Passengers can expect delays beginning at 6 a.m. Thursday due to the numerous street closures in the area. All buses/bus routes will go to the Rosa Parks Transit Center.

The following bus routes will be affected because of the parade on Thursday from 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.:

• 3 Grand River
• 4 Woodward
• 5 Van Dyke/Lafayette
• 6 Gratiot
• 8 Warren
• 9 Jefferson
• 16 Dexter
• 23 Hamilton
• 31 Mack
• 42 Mid-City Loop
• 52 Chene
• 67 Cadillac/Harper

These following routes will also be affected because of the Turkey Trot starting at 7 a.m. and detours expected to end following the race at 10 a.m.:

• 1 Vernor
• 3 Grand River
• 19 Fort
• 27 Joy
• 29 Linwood

There are plenty of places to park in downtown Detroit. Street parking will be free on Thursday and Friday, but vehicles illegally parked (block driveways, crosswalks, fire hydrants or other access points) will be ticketed and possibly towed).

Parking will also be available at Ford Underground Garage - 30 E Jefferson Avenue and Eastern Market Garage - 2727 Riopelle Street.