Kick-off the holiday season with a grand parade, snag a fabulous deal at sales taking place all across the state, or take advantage of some of our great holiday packages.
Everyone loves a parade. America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade -- the longest-running such parades in the nation and the highlight, of course, is the arrival of Santa Claus. The annual Turkey Trot 5km/10km run precedes the 9:30 a.m. parade. The grand event steps-off at Woodward Avenue and Mack on in downtown Detroit and ends at Woodward Avenue and Congress. Detroiter's have enjoyed the rich tradition of going downtown to celebrate Thanksgiving for generations. The route will honor the Thanksgiving Day tradition—now in its 86th year--while providing parade-goers the opportunity to enjoy the transformation of The Motor City.
This year’s Parade will have crowd favorites and new surprises with more than 75 parade units including floats, balloons, award-winning marching bands, clowns, specialty acts, celebrities and The Parade Company’s own Distinguished Clown Corps. Nearly a million people are expected downtown for the 2012 America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. In addition, millions of others will enjoy the statewide or national network television broadcast of the event.
Michigan’s joyful holiday season kicks off the weekend before Thanksgiving with lively parades, colorful lighting displays, sales and bargains to launch the official start of the holiday shopping season, and a month-long series of festive events in big cities and picturesque small towns across the state. Many hotels and resorts offer special rates as well as lodging, shopping and dining packages to make it easy to treat yourself to a holiday getaway in Michigan. Sports fans have their pick of games over the long holiday weekend as the NFL Detroit Lions continue their home game tradition on Thanksgiving Day.
Follow another holiday tradition, head out early the day after Thanksgiving to start your holiday shopping. For some, it’s a highly competitive, tactical exercise that begins the moment stores open the day after Thanksgiving and ends only when extreme physical exhaustion sets in. Others invest weeks in visiting far off stores and shopping centers to find the best possible value, selection and ambience.
Whatever the preference, Michigan offers nearly 40,000 individual retail establishments, from specialty stores to outlet malls, art galleries to shopping centers. Many major shopping centers, malls and downtown shopping districts offer popular ‘shop and stay’ packages. From free gift wrapping to complimentary massages for weary shoppers, Michigan retailers go all out for holiday patrons.
For a complete list of holiday packages, visit our michigan.org deals and packages page.
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