Novant Health Thanksgiving Day Parade facts for kids
The Novant Health Thanksgiving Eve Parade is a super fun event held in Charlotte, North Carolina. It happens the night before Thanksgiving Day in the city's uptown area. This parade started way back in 1947! For many years, it was called the "Carolinas' Carrousel Parade." In 2013, Novant Health became the main sponsor, and the parade's name changed. In 2021, it moved from Thanksgiving Day to Thanksgiving Eve.
Since 1967, a group called Carolina's Carrousel, Inc. has given out scholarships. These awards go to high school students who do great in school and help out in their community. For a while, from 1998 to 2012, scholarships also went to amazing marching band students. The top scholarship winner used to be called "Carrousel Queen," but in 2011, the name changed to "Carrousel Scholar."
The Carolinas' Carrousel Parade was special because it used to be one of the few Thanksgiving parades held in the afternoon. Most parades happen in the morning! However, starting in 2008, this parade also moved to the mornings. It's a huge event, bringing together many people from the Carolinas. It's even known as the fourth-largest parade in the United States, with about 100,000 people watching! You can also watch the parade on TV, usually on CBS 3. In 2016, you could even watch it live online.
History of the Parade
How the Parade Started
- 1947: Local business people created the parade. They wanted to bring more shoppers to downtown Charlotte. It quickly became a favorite holiday event!
- 1950: The parade moved to Thanksgiving Day itself.
- 1967: The parade's impact grew with the start of the scholarship program. This program honored outstanding high school students in the area.
- 1968: CBS television broadcasted the parade. Because of this, the parade moved to the morning.
- 1981: A marching band competition was added to the parade, making it even more exciting.
- 2005: The number of parade floats almost doubled to 23! Organizers hoped to get the parade shown on national TV.
- 2007: The parade celebrated its 60th anniversary! New light poles in uptown Charlotte made it hard to use really big parade balloons. So, the 2007 parade had 104 floats and lots of entertainers like dancers. A new sponsor, Belk, joined in 2007 and became the main sponsor in 2010.
- 2008: For the first time since 1968, the parade started at 10 a.m. This earlier start time brought in many more TV viewers and was a big success! Also in 2008, a website called travelmuse.com named Charlotte's parade the 4th largest in the country.
- 2012: The U.S. News & World Report included the parade on its list of "America's Best Thanksgiving Day Parades."
