By Jim Bloch
The Marching Saints of St. Clair High School will participate in the 98th annual America’s Thanksgiving Parade along Woodward Avenue in Detroit on Thanksgiving Day. The parade is presented by Gardner White.
“This is our fourth time attending this parade,” said Micah Volz, Director of Bands at Clair High School, speaking to Thumbcoast TV. “It’s a really fun event to go to in Detroit. It’s just electric on Thanksgiving morning. So we’re really looking forward to it.”
The grand marshals for the parade are Daniel Loepp, longtime CEO of Blue Cross of Michigan, who is retiring at the end of the year; Senator Debbie Stabenow, serving the last of her nearly 25 years as one of Michigan’s U.S. Senators; and Mike Tirico, the NBC sportscaster who lives in Ann Arbor. The parade will feature six new floats in 2024.
“It’s a unique opportunity,” said Volz. “It’s something you’re not going to be able to do again. You might be able to be involved in the parade, but not with your high school marching band. It’s a unique thing to march through downtown Detroit. On Thanksgiving Day, there’s just so much going on. It’s a fun environment and to march among the big tall buildings, that’s a cool thing for kids from St. Clair. I love doing something that’s a little bit more regional than just a local thing. I’m really proud of the band and how well they perform. They’re also going to be on national television. People from across the country can watch that parade and our students.”
The parade will be televised locally on WDIV-TV Channel 4, 9 a.m.-noon on Nov. 28. In 2023, it was telecast in 185 markets around the country.
“Just the other day, I got an email from a band director in Kentucky, saying, Hey, we watched the coverage of the band the last time you were in the parade, how did you do it, what’s the application process like – so that’s kind of amazing…,” said Volz.
The parade was launched by the J.L. Hudson Co. 100 years ago this year, making it the second oldest Thanksgiving Parade in the country, tied with the Macy’s parade in New
York City. The parade was not held for two years during World War II. The parade was held without crowds in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
