However different, there will still be a parade to watch on Thanksgiving Day morning
America’s Thanksgiving Parade presented by Gardner White is a televisedonly production this year due to the pandemic, but it’s still going to be a great show to watch on Thursday morning.
“It’s important to carry on this tradition,” said Jessica Kaminskas of Washington Township, who knows firsthand what the parade means to Michiganders.
She saw it when she was a little girl.
“My dad used to take me and my sister to the parade,” Kaminskas said. “I remember waking up, super early, getting bundled up in warm clothes and then driving to Detroit. My dad worked at Manufacturers Bank downtown, so we always had a good parking spot, within walking distance to the parade.”
Then they would make their way toward the Woodward Avenue parade route and once settled in a spot along the curb, her father would break out the Thermos of hot chocolate.
“I remember loving the balloons, flying high in the sky, right over our heads, and of course Santa Claus,” she said.
Once in college the fun never ceased.
As a student at Central Michigan University, studying commercial recreation, Kaminskas worked as an intern for the Parade Company, which gave her the opportunity to experience the magic that goes into creating the parade. After that she was hooked, and has been a member of the Parade Company ever since.
“I fell in love with it,” said Kaminskas, who worked her way up the ranks from college intern and production assistant to chief operating officer.
She admits the work is hard.
“But you’re working with a great team in order to put together something that the community looks forward to every year. Seeing the outcome of that makes you feel really, really good,” she said.
It’s also been great fun, especially since her husband, Brian Kaminskas, joined the Distinguished Clown Corps (DCC), which is a group of local business and community leaders who support the parade annually, and as contributing volunteers are given the joy of walking in the parade as distinguished clowns, doling out candy and colorful beads to parade attendees.
“This is his fifth year,” Kaminskas said, of his DCC appearances in the parade that Michiganders and many Canadian neighbors have enjoyed for more than 80 years.
“Founded by J.L. Hud-
son’s, downtown Detroit’s legendary department store, the parade first rolled down Woodward Avenue in 1924, the same year that Macy’s began its parade in New York City,” according to the Detroit Historical Society. “For generations of Michigan families, the official holiday season did not start until ‘ the real Santa Claus’ stepped from the parade’s final float onto the Woodward marquee of Hudson’s to accept the key to both the city ‘and the hearts of good children everywhere.’ The next day, elevators whisked throngs of parents and children up to the store’s magnificently decorated toyland for a personal visit with the man in red velvet.
“Detroit’s first Thanksgiving parade featured horses pulling a float decorated with Mother Goose, four papier-mâché heads and seven marching bands. Over the years, the parade’s size and scope has grown significantly, as it has entertained millions of bundled-up fans along its twomile route down Woodward with giant balloons, floats, marching bands, cartoon characters, celebrities and more.”
This year’s running of America’s Thanksgiving Parade will include all of the elements that people love but to keep everyone safe during the pandemic will be presented as a TV- only special broadcast on WDIVTV (Channel 4).
“It’s going to be different, but we’re just as excited as ever to bring something that people in the Detroit area can wake up to on Thanksgiving Day morning,” Kaminskas said.
This year’s theme of “We Are One Together” not only reflects that year that the world has experienced but honors the frontline workers and heroes of the COVID-19 crisis.
Nine essential workers will serve as grand marshals for this year’s parade, including representatives from the health care field and the United Postal Service as well as teachers and people who helped to make the ventilators that supported people during the pandemic. “We really tried to have a well-rounded group who came together to provide services to the community during COVID-19,” Kaminskas said.
The parade will also feature new floats, including one designed by this year’s winner of the 29th annual Skillman Foundation Float Design Contest, John Baker, IV, an eighthgrader who attends Bates Academy in Detroit.
Baker’s design, titled “The Genius of Children,” was brought to life by the talented artists at the Parade Company and was unveiled Tuesday morning.
The float features Albert Einstein, a piano player, a spelling bee champion, a chess player and Baker himself. In his design, Baker drew himself as a basketball player sitting on a stack of books, emphasizing that children can excel at more than one thing. Baker is an accomplished athlete, student and artist.
Student musicians are also a part of the annual parade, but this year their performances were pre-recorded.
“We brought them all out to Comerica Park and taped one band per hour,” Kaminskas said.
Among the high school marching bands appearing on this year’s show are: Chippewa Valley High School’s Big Reds Marching Band from Clinton Township, Dakota High School Marching Band from Macomb Township and the Detroit Public School District All City Band.
“The DPSCD All City Marching Band represents students from across the district who come together to perform in this ensemble. Students represent Osborn High School, Detroit Collegiate Prep at Northwestern High School, Cass Technical High School, Renaissance High School, King High School, Detroit School of the Arts, Mumford High School and Communications and Media Arts High School,” said Andrew McGuire, assistant director of fine and performing arts for Detroit Public Schools.
Hosting this special showing of the parade will be WDIV’s Devin Scillian, whose personal observations of the parade are as traditional as the event itself. Joining him will be Kimberly Gill, Rhonda Walker and Errod Cassimy. During the broadcast audiences can engage further by entering for a chance to win special prizes including a $3,000 gift card courtesy of Gardner White and one of four 65-inch televisions donated by WDIV-TV. In addition, the parade will also feature broadcasts on Paul W. Smith’s morning show WJR-AM (760) and Entercom’s WOMC-FM (104.3)
As for the fixings that go with the Thanksgiving Day parade, those being the events that surround the day, these have also been changed for safety’s sake.
The 38th Annual Strategic Staffing Solutions Turkey Trot is taking place as a virtual race. Registration is open and includes the 10K and 5K S3 Turkey Trot and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Mashed Potato Mile. Registration is open until noon on Thanksgiving Day at theparade.org/ turkeytrot. All runners receive the official collectors S3 Turkey Trot race shirt and medal. The event benefits The Michigan Thanksgiving Parade Foundation.
The Hob Nob Gobble, charity ball, however was cancelled.
“It’s been a challenge, but I think we’ve found a way to put together a production that is safe but still delivers a great amount of fun,” Kasmiskas said. “It’s important for people to wake up on Thanksgiving morning and see something that is magical and inspirational. It gives people hope.”
The Parade is recognized as the Best Holiday Parade by USA Today, two years running, 2018 and 2019. This is Gardner-White’s inaugural year as presenting sponsor.
For more information visit theparade.org
Nine essential workers will serve as grand marshals for this year’s parade, including representatives from the health care field and the United Postal Service as well as teachers and people who helped to make the ventilators that supported people during the pandemic.