Novant Health Thanksgiving Eve Parade

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Web: NovantHealth Thanksgiving Parade.com

Email: Logan Acheson, 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 Eve Parade, please request an application from Logan Acheson at the contact info above. Applications are open each year from February 1 through August 31.

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The largest Thanksgiving parade in the Southeast lights up 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 2025 parade will be held Wednesday, November 26, 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 10-16 bands and marching bands from across the region and the country are encouraged to apply. High school bands are automatically entered into the Battle of the Bands competition where their performance is judged LIVE on the performance floor. The Battle of the Bands winner receives a trophy and a spot to perform in the parade next year.

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 a $1,000 grant scholarship and a $2,500 Queen Charlotte Music Scholarship.

The parade will air LIVE on WCCB beginning at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, November 26.

School Bands:
• Ashe County Husky Vanguard Marching Band, West Jefferson, NC
• Foard High School Tiger Band, Newton, NC
• Gardner-Webb University Marching Bulldogs, Boiling Springs, NC
• Harding University High School Marching Band of Gold, Charlotte, NC
• Jacob's Fork Middle School Mighty Jaguar Band, Newton, NC
• Monroe High School Red Storm Marching Band, Monroe, NC
• Morehead High School Pride of Morehead Marching Band, Eden, NC
• Palisades High School Marching Band, Charlotte, NC
• Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology "Force of Phillip" Marching Cardinals, Charlotte, NC
• Rocky River High School Marching Band, Mint Hill, NC
• West Charlotte Marching Lions, Charlotte, NC

Community Marching Units:
• Cunningham Concert Marching Band, Charlotte, NC
• Cunningham Master Brass Marching Band, Charlotte, NC
• D.R.E.A.M. Drill Team Inc., Charlotte, NC
• Drills of Hope Marching Thunder, Charlotte, NC
• Greenville Community Combined Youth Organization Marching Corps, Greenville, NC

Wednesday, November 26, 2025
Wednesday, November 25, 2026
Wednesday, November 24, 2027
(Always held the night before Thanksgiving)

Web: NovantHealthThanksgivingParade.com

Email: Logan Acheson, 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 Eve Parade, please request an application from Logan Acheson at the contact info above. Applications are open each year from February 1 through August 31.