The Parade Company
This is one of our favorite ‘hidden gem’ spots in Detroit, a regionally beloved company that puts on the highly anticipated ‘Michigan Thanksgiving Parade’, now just known as America’s Thanksgiving Parade. This company was founded in 1982 with the ‘purpose of staging and perpetuating the American Thanksgiving Parade, Michigan's grandest and most cherished civic event’. Several iconic civic and corporate leaders from all walks of life come help with this grand event, representing a workforce spanning from industrial and auto to retail and institutional. This entire event is a vital part of metropolitan Detroit’s cultural community, drawing over 1500 yearly volunteers.
America’s Thanksgiving Parade by Art Van puts all the best elements of fantasy, holiday spirit, and community enthusiasm into one event. There are over 75 units within the parade, between floats, balloons, and marching bands. The parade is highly attended and televised, being the most visible civic event in the region.
But don’t worry, you don’t have to visit during the holiday season to really enjoy this attraction, the Comerica Bank presenting public tours daily during the on-season. These tours are available to school groups, groups of more than 10 people, or scout groups. You will get to see Detroit’s ‘most enchanted hidden attraction’ ParadeLand from behind the scenes, filling you in on amazing Parade Co history and allowing you to see the talented artisans at work within the astonishing 200,000 square foot Float Land. See the world’s largest collection of paper mache heads in here, and if you are with a school group take advantage of the educational k-5 curriculum, lesson plans, and talking points.
