DETROIT – Art Van Furniture is the new presenting sponsor for this year's America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit.
The Parade Company made the announcement Thursday with Art Van Elslander, founder and chairman of Art Van Furniture, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, and Tony Michaels, president and CEO of The Parade Company.
The parade along Woodward Avenue is in its 87th year.
"This is our way of thanking all of the Michigan families who have supported Art Van Furniture for nearly six decades," said Van Elslander. "We hope that when people line up on Woodward Avenue this year, the entire country will see how much we all believe in the parade, the city of Detroit, and in creating lasting memories for children and families."
Art Van Furniture will unveil its new "Art Van Wonderland" float in celebration of the company's spectacular holiday destinations at its Warren and Grand Rapids flagship stores.
A record eight new floats will be unveiled this parade season with an extended parade route. The iconic parade will now travel more than two miles, with step-off at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Kirby adjacent to the Detroit Institute of Arts in Midtown and it will end south of Campus Martius Park at Congress.
The more than two mile long parade will feature 60 parade units, award-winning marching bands, 500 clowns, specialty acts, celebrities, the Big Head Corps donning Italian-made papier-mâché heads and the Distinguished Clown Corps celebrating its 30th year. This year's theme is "Downtown Our Town."
The parade on November 28 with step-off at 8:45 a.m. in midtown Detroit at Woodward Avenue and Kirby. The parade is free to the public with grandstand tickets now available starting at $40.
To buy grandstand tickets, click here.
You can watch the parade live on Local 4 News and ClickOnDetroit.com.
Check out all of the fun from last year's parade on our special parade page: America's Thanksgiving Parade