Novant Health Thanksgiving Eve Parade

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Web: NovantHealth Thanksgiving Parade.com

Email: Logan Coon, 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 Logan Coon at the contact info above. Applications will be open 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 2023 parade will be held Wednesday, November 22, 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 6 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 air LIVE on WBTV beginning at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, November 22.

Battle of the Bands Participants:
• Ashe County High School Husky Vanguard Marching Band, West Jefferson, NC
• East Burke High School Marching Cavaliers, Connelly Springs, NC
• Hopewell High School Titanium Sound Marching Band, Huntersville, NC
• Mallard Creek High School Superior Maverick Machine, Charlotte, NC
• Monroe High School Red Storm Marching Band, Monroe, NC
• Morehead High School Pride of Morehead Marching Band, Eden, NC
• Rocky River High School Rhythm of the Rock Marching Band, Mint Hill, NC
• West Charlotte High School Marching Lions, Charlotte, NC

Community Marching Units:
• DREAM Drill Team, Charlotte, NC
• Drills of Hope Marching Thunder, Charlotte, NC
• Greenville Community Combined Youth Organization Marching Corps, Greenville, NC
• Bailey "Master" Brass Marching Band, Charlotte, NC
• Bailey Concert Band, Charlotte, NC

Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
Wednesday, November 26, 2025
(Always held the night before Thanksgiving)

Web: NovantHealthThanksgivingParade.com

Email: Logan Coon, 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 Logan Coon at the contact info above. Applications will be open from February 1 through August 31.