DETROIT – Detroit Thanksgiving parade floats get intense practice for smooth Woodward Avenue route
With less than three weeks until Thanksgiving, The Parade Company is ramping up preparations to ensure everything is perfect for America’s Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit.
Don Morris, senior director of operations for The Parade Company, explained, “Now most people say that’s just a straight shot. It is to a point, certain parts are straight, but then we have to come back to the center like by LCA we have to do it a little bit different.”
This is where practice driving the floats becomes crucial.
Tony Michaels, president and CEO of The Parade Company, emphasized, “Safety is what it’s all about and we don’t want any problems.”
Rain or shine, volunteers with The Parade Company take lap after lap, making sure everything runs smoothly.
James Gruda, captain of float drivers and spotters, said, “It takes coordination. It takes common sense, and it takes a lot of fun out of people.”
Don Morris added, “The driver and the spotters actually have radios, and they talk to each other during the whole duration, during the come down Woodward Avenue.”
The team used to practice with just one float, but now most floats are triples, so they have stepped up their training.
Don Morris noted, “The spotter is the most important part of this whole thing in terms of to be able to look forward to the side and making sure we’re doing everything we need to do.”
All this effort goes into putting on a parade that has been bringing smiles to people’s faces for decades.
James Gruda summed it up, “I mean this is Detroit. Let’s face it.”
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