America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit 2019: What to know

Thanksgiving is a day to spend with family and friends, and before the big meal, many metro Detroiters come downtown to watch the 2019 America's Thanksgiving Parade. 

NBC's "America's Got Talent" second-place winner, the Detroit Youth Choir, and former Detroit mayor and Michigan Supreme Court Judge Dennis Archer will be grand marshals of the 93rd annual parade.

With a Detroit Lions home game scheduled Thursday, the parade along Woodward Avenue, the Turkey Trot run and several road closures across downtown, careful planning will make parking and driving less stressful. Here's what you need to know: 

Schedule

• 6 a.m.: Pre-parade coverage begins on 760 AM WJR and on WDIV-TV Local 4. 
• 7:30 a.m.: Turkey Trot begins
• 8 a.m.:Grandstand seating opens for ticket holders
• 8:45a.m.: Parade begins on Woodward Avenue and Kirby Street. 
• 10 a.m.: Live broadcast begins on WDIV-TV and 104.3 WOMC-FM. 
• 12:30 p.m.: Detroit Lions play the Chicago Bears at Ford Field.

Road closures

Woodward Avenue from West Grand Boulevard to Warren Avenue will be closed from 1 p.m. on Wednesday through 2 p.m. Thursday.

Woodward Avenue from Warren to Jefferson avenues will also be shut down beginning at 1 a.m. until the the end of the parade Thursday.

These streets will have limited access starting Wednesday at noon:

• Amsterdam/Piquette from Cass to John R
• Harper from Cass to John R
• Palmer from Cass to John R
• Ferry from Cass to John R
• Farnsworth/Putnam from Cass to John R

The following streets will be closed beginning at 5 a.m. on Thursday and reopen at about 10 a.m.:

• 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 Drive to Third

Some exits on the Lodge Freeway will be closed during the Turkey Trot. They are:

• Exits 1A and 1B southbound
• Exit 1A northbound 

Getting there

Taking public transportation or carpooling will help reduce traffic. The Detroit People Mover will be free from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. with all stations open. 

SMART will be running its FAST bus service with some changes on Thanksgiving Day. 

The following DDOT bus lines will be affected Thanksgiving Day:

• #7  Cadillac-Harper
• #10 Chene
• #25 Jefferson
• #31 Mack
• #34 Gratiot
• #48 Van Dyke
• #19 Fort
• #27 Joy
• #29 Linwood

If you are driving, parking is available north and south of the parade start point. 

Contact Omar Abdel-Baqui: 313-222-2514 or oabdel-baqui@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarabdelb