Start your Thanksgiving with some joy before the dreaded cooking at the 2015 McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade.
Serving as grand marshal this year is actor, writer, director, producer, and star of Broadway In Chicago’s “Sherlock Holmes,” David Arquette along with Ronald McDonald. Joining Arquette on the parade route will be “Master Chef” judge Graham Elliott, “Chicago Fire’s” Yuri Sardarov, and “Once Upon a Time” star Jessy Schram. Parade goers will enjoy the sounds of some of the country’s great marching bands along with some of your childhood favorite characters like Tweety, Hello Kitty, Plex from “Yo Gabba Gabba,” Arthur, and more. One of the great things to see every year is how they get those enormous helium-filled balloons under the El tracks.
If you’re having trouble picking which of the city’s great productions to attend while you’re in town the parade has teasers from many of the great productions. Audiences can expect performances from Goodman Theatre’s “A Christmas Carol,” Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®’s “Circus XTREME,” Black Ensemble Theater’s “Dynamite Divas,” “Million Dollar Quartet,” Emerald City Theatre’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” and more.
The State Street Council started the parade in 1934 to boost spirits during the Great Depression, and it has been succeeding in that ever since. The parade does a great job of representing the different types of cultures in Chicago with floats and performances.
The 2015 McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade starts at 8 a.m., so you’ll want to get there early to beat the crowd of hundreds of thousands that usually attend. The parade will take place on State Street from Congress Parkway to Randolph Street. Also, if you can’t make it downtown you can tune into WGN as they will be broadcasting all three hours of the parade. For more information visit chicagofestivals.org.
