Novant Health Thanksgiving Parade

Share this page:

For More Information

Web: NovantHealth Thanksgiving Parade.com

Email: Monica Ponce, Charlotte Center City Partners

Mail: 200 S. Tryon Street, Suite 1600, Charlotte, NC 28202

Phone: 704-332-2227

If you're interested in entering your band in the Novant Health Thanksgiving Parade, please request an application from Monica Ponce at the contact info above.

View more Marching.com Featured Events

The largest Thanksgiving parade in the Southeast returns to Charlotte with a magical showcase of larger-than-life floats and balloons, nationally known recording artists, marching bands, dance teams and plenty of surprises. The 2021 event will celebrate the parade's Diamond anniversary with a spectacular in-person parade on Wednesday, November 24, the night before Thanksgiving.

The Novant Health Thanksgiving Parade began as a small local holiday parade in Charlotte in 1947. Hundreds of thousands of participants, volunteers, sponsors, families and friends have centered their Thanksgiving traditions around this annual event. With Novant Health as title sponsor since 2013, the parade continues to increase in size and spectacle each year, delighting more than 110,000 people along Tryon Street and reaching more than 1.5 million homes through the annual TV broadcast.

The parade travels along Tryon Street through Uptown Charlotte. The lineup includes space for 16 marching bands, and bands from across the region and the country are encouraged to apply. High school bands are automatically entered into the WBTV Battle of the Bands competition where their performance is posted online and voted on by spectators and fans.

Charlotte Center City Partners has proudly revived the Marching Band Scholarship Program. Marching bands have been an integral part of the Thanksgiving Parade since it first began in 1947 and after a brief hiatus, the scholarship program has returned to encourage students to continue their musical practices beyond high school. The program includes three $1,000 grant scholarships and the $2,500 Queen Charlotte Music Scholarship.

The parade will be streamed live on WBTV's Facebook page and on the parade app on Wednesday evening. The broadcast will also air on WBTV television on Thanksgiving Day.

• Ashe County High School Marching Band, West Jefferson, NC
• Independence High School Marching Band, Charlotte, NC
• Mallard Creek High School Marching Band, Charlotte, NC
• Myers Park High School Marching Mustangs, Charlotte, NC
• West Charlotte High School Marching Band, Charlotte, NC

• Performances by The Hamiltones and Lexi Walker
• Miss NC 2017 Victoria Huggins and Miss SC 2017 Suzi Roberts
• Tribute to our military service members and their families
• Special appearance by the Seed and Feed Marching Abominable and The United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps
• Featuring over 120 units, 16 floats, 8 segwalloons and a 20-foot tall elf marionette
• More than 1,500 marching band participants

Wednesday, November 24, 2021
Wednesday, November 23, 2022
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
(Always held the night before Thanksgiving)

Web: NovantHealthThanksgivingParade.com

Email: Monica Ponce, Charlotte Center City Partners
Mail: 200 S. Tryon Street, Suite 1600, Charlotte, NC 28202
Phone: 704-332-2227

If you're interested in entering your band in the Novant Health Thanksgiving Parade, please request an application from Monica Ponce at the contact info above.