| 6abc Dunkin' Thanksgiving Day Parade | |
|---|---|
 Parade logo withDunkin' Donuts's co-sponsorship, 2011 | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 104 |
| Production | |
| Production locations | 20th and JFK Boulevard, and then across JFK Boulevard, aroundPhiladelphia City Hall, across theBenjamin Franklin Parkway, and ending at thePhiladelphia Museum of Art |
| Running time | 3.5 hours (with commercials) |
| Production companies | 1920–1985:Gimbels 1986–present:WPVI 1986–2007:Boscov's 2008–2010:IKEA 2011–present:Dunkin' |
| Original release | |
| Network | WPVI-TV |
| Release | November 25, 1920 (1920-11-25) – present |
The6abc Dunkin' Thanksgiving Day Parade[1] is an annualThanksgiving Day parade held inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania. It is currently sponsored and broadcast byABCowned-and-operatedtelevision stationWPVI-TV, through a co-sponsorship agreement withrestaurant chainDunkin'. It is currently the oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States, having been held through theGreat Depression andWorld War II, and was created byGimbels department store in 1920. Gimbels sponsored the parade until the store's bankruptcy and closure in 1986.
The annual Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade began in 1920. It is the longest continuously heldThanksgiving day parade in the country. Like other parades of its type, it features balloons, floats, high school marching bands, and celebrities.Gimbels department store sponsored the 1920 parade as the Gimbels Thanksgiving Day Parade; it continued annually despiteWorld War II.[2]
Ellis Gimbel, one of the founders of Gimbels Department Stores, wanted his toy land to be the destination of holiday shoppers everywhere. He had more than 50 store employees dressed in costume and sent to walk in their first Thanksgiving Day parade. The parade featured floats as marchers paraded downMarket Street, with the parade's finale featuringSanta Claus arriving at the eighth-floor toy department at Gimbels, where he climbed the ladder of a Philadelphia Fire Department ladder truck.[2] Gimbels emulated other holiday parades already in existence. The Santa Claus Parade inPeoria, Illinois, is held on the day after Thanksgiving and is the oldest, continuously held holiday parade in the country since 1887, under the sponsorship of Frederick Block and the Schipper & Block, later renamed Block & Kuhl Department Store. Block's example led to the founding of similar parades in other cities. The parade tradition continues today.
WhenBatus Inc., which then owned Gimbels, was unable to find a buyer for the store in 1986, the Gimbels' chain was liquidated, leaving the fate of the country's oldest parade uncertain.Boscov's, a family-owned department store based inReading, Pennsylvania, and WPVI (also known as 6abc), theABC owned and operated station in Philadelphia, replaced Gimbels as sponsorships of the parade.[3] They renamed the event as the 6abc Boscov's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
In 2004, the parade celebrated its 85th anniversary with new balloons and floats. An opening number paid tribute to the celebrities who had participated during its history. In 2005, it featured the most celebrities in history, as well as eight new balloons, also the most in its history. In 2007, the parade presented the first parade float with a built-in ice rink. Disney'sHigh School Musical: The Ice Tour utilized the rink.
In August 2008, Boscov's Department Stores filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy protection and planned to close several stores, due to financial problems from the widespread recession. They withdrew their sponsorship of the parade. Swedish furniture manufacturerIKEA, which has a store and its North American home office in nearbyConshohocken, Pennsylvania, replaced Boscov's as parade co-sponsor from that year until 2010.
In June 2011,Dunkin' Donuts announced that they would sponsor the parade.[4] In addition to balloons and marching bands, the show features ABC stars, actors from stage and screen, Disney characters, and local personalities, including members of the Action News team.
In 2020, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the parade was held as a television-only event. The6abc Dunkin' Thanksgiving Celebration featured modifications similar to those made by theMacy's andAmerica's Thanksgiving Parades.[5] The parade returned to its traditional format in 2021.
Since 1966, the parade has been broadcast on WPVI, as well as simulcast on other television stations throughout the United States.[6] Viewers could also watch the telecast on the station's website, 6abc.com,ABC News Live,Disney+ andHulu, and since 2023, the parade has been aired internationally via the YouTube page of ABC News.
Good Morning America, ABC's national morning news program, sends a reporter to the event each year and covers festivities leading up to the parade. In 2013, then-Good Morning Americaweather anchorSam Champion participated in hosting in his sixth year.[7] In more recent years, currentGMA weekday weather anchorGinger Zee has participated in hosting.[8]
Jim O'Brien was the program's first host;Dave Roberts became a perennial host upon joining the station in 1978. After the sudden death of O'Brien in 1983, WPVI'sLisa Thomas-Laury joined as Roberts's co-host. Together, Roberts and Thomas-Laury hosted the parade for nearly 20 years. When Thomas-Laury began to experience health problems in 2002, WPVI weather anchorCecily Tynan replaced her. 2006 marked the program's firsthigh-definition telecast.
Since her return to WPVI, Thomas-Laury helped host the finale in 2006 and 2007. In 2009, the station announced that Roberts would retire from broadcasting on December 11 of that year. Thomas-Laury made a special appearance in 2009, to celebrate Roberts's years as host. Thomas-Laury (who would subsequently retire from broadcasting in 2016) and Roberts both made a special appearance in the broadcast booth during the centennial edition of the parade in 2019.
The current hosting team is Tynan and WPVI news anchor Rick Williams,[9] who replaced Roberts.
Since 2024, the parade has simulcastly streamed nationally onABC News Live,Disney+, andHulu.[10]
WPVI also broadcasts annual live coverage of Philadelphia's Pulaski, Columbus, and Puerto Rican parades.[6]
Balloons have been created to represent a wide variety of characters from popular children's books, including folk tales, toys, comic books, animated movies and cartoons, television series (such asSesame Street), films and other genres. Increasingly over the years, the balloons have featured characters who have tie-in marketing of toys, games, and accessories.
| Year | Featured Balloons |
|---|---|
| 2010 | New:Bugs Bunny,Fred Flintstone,The Jetsons Returning:Cornucopia, Sam I Am fromGreen Eggs and Ham,Mr. Potato Head,Big Bird, Toy Train,Scooby-Doo, Twinkles the Snowman, Nutcracker, Turkey,Horton the Elephant,Elmo[11] |
| 2011 | New: Buddy the Dinosaur fromDinosaur Train, Red fromFraggle Rock, Apollo the Dog Returning: Turkey,Cornucopia,Madeline,Curious George,Scooby-Doo, 2 Gift Packages,Bugs Bunny,Fred Flintstone, Toy Train, 2 Gingerbread Men,Kermit the Frog[12] |
| 2012 | New:Thomas the Tank Engine,The Very Hungry Caterpillar,The Lorax, Mr. Conductor fromDinosaur Train, FiremanMr. Potato Head,Sid the Science Kid Returning:Cookie Monster,Scooby-Doo,Bugs Bunny,Elmo, Pizzazz the Snowman,T-Rex, 2 Gift Packages, Turkey[13] |
| 2013 | New:Chuggington Returning: Mr. Potato Head, Snowflake, Holiday Stocking and Christmas Bell
|
| 2014 | New:Maisy Mouse,Caillou,Garfield Santa,Bob the Builder, Mistletoes the Snowman Returning:My Little Pony,Mr. Potato Head,Clifford the Big Red Dog, Plex fromYo Gabba Gabba,Strawberry Shortcake,The Lorax,The Grinch,Pajanimals, Mr. Conductor fromDinosaur Train,The Cat in the Hat,Horton, Nutcrackers[14] |
| 2015 | New: Phila-A-Turkey,Tasmanian Devil,Daniel Tiger, Bubbles the Goldfish Returning: Red fromFraggle Rock,Garfield Santa,Strawberry Shortcake, Sam I Am fromGreen Eggs and Ham,Scooby-Doo,Mr. Potato Head Fireman, Gift Boxes,Thomas the Tank Engine,The Grinch,Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,My Little Pony[15] |
| 2016 | New: Foofa fromYo Gabba Gabba,Tweety Bird,Captain Barnacles Returning: Olivia the Pig, T-Rex, Tasmanian Devil, Curious George, The Cat in the Hat, Mr. Potato Head, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Bugs Bunny, The Grinch, Scooby-Doo, Daniel Tiger |
| 2017 | New: Buddy the Dinosaur (fromDinosaur Train),Penguins of Madagascar, Fiddlesticks the Holiday Mouse,Thing 1 and Thing 2 Returning: Bugs Bunny, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Daniel Tiger, Strawberry Shortcake, Gingerbread Man, Red fromFraggle Rock, Very Hungry Caterpillar, Pajanimals |
| 2018 | New:Where's Waldo? Returning: The Grinch, Thing 1, Thing 2, Hello Kitty. Santa Claus, Brainy Smurf, Strawberry Shortcake, T-Rex, Daniel Tiger, Underdog, Pizzazz the Snowman[16] |
| 2019 | All balloons grounded due to severe winds |
| 2020 | None |
| 2021 | New:Pac-Man, Jerold the Bookworm, Bumble the Abominable Snowman, Gingersnap the Elf Returning: Fiddlesticks, Daniel Tiger, Rudolph, Turkey, Buddy the Dinosaur, Clifford the Big Red Dog, The Cat in the Hat, Cupcakes[17] |
| 2022 | New:Smurfette,Peppa Pig,Alma,Leonardo fromTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Eva Green Tree Returning: Mr. Potato Head, Thomas the Tank Engine, Bumble the Abominable Snowman, Gift Box, 2 Ornaments, Bugs Bunny, Strawberry Shortcake, Turkey |
| 2023 | New: Sunny Starscout fromMy Little Pony: Make Your Mark, Hermie the Elf, Gobo fromFraggle Rock Returning: Turkey, Bumble the Abominable Snowman, Mr. Potato Head Fireman, Pac-Man, Horton the Elephant, Magenta and Tartan Ornaments, Pizazz the Snowman, Red fromFraggle Rock, My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, Neon Gift Box, Smurfette |
| 2024 | New: Butterscotch the Elf, Dunkin’ Gift Boxes, Daniel Tiger as The Drum Major, Sunny Starscout fromMy Little Pony: Make Your Mark, Twinkles the Snowman, Bumble the Abominable Snowman Returning: Turkey, Fancy Holiday Bell, Gingersnap the Elf, Brainy Smurf, Tweety Bird, Tasmanian Devil, Holiday Wreath, Rudolph |
| To be featured in 2025 | New: Ray (Good Morning America’s mascot), Green Nutcracker, Hiccup Returning: Turkey, Strawberry Shortcake, Orange Gift Box, Pink Gift Box, Smurfette, Rudolph, Fancy Holiday Bell, Peppa Pig, Twinkles the Snowman, Hermie the Elf, Bumble the Abominable Snowman, Holiday Wreath, Daniel Tiger as The Drum Major, Red fromFraggle Rock, Gingerbread Man, Red Gift Box |
In addition to the well-known balloons and floats, the parade also features live music and other performances. High-school marching bands from across the country participate, and the television broadcasts feature performances by famous singers and bands as well as appearances by local celebrities and actors from ABC shows. Since 1997, the parade has also featured a tap routine called "FanTAPulous," with more than 450 dancers from theEast Coast. Other special guests include state and nationalbeauty contest winners, cheerleaders of major sports teams, casts from musicals performing in Philadelphia, and Santa and Mrs. Claus.
In 2024, the Philadelphia Ghostbusters joined the parade line up for the first time. They were accompanied by members of the Delco Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters of New Jersey, and Diamond State Ghostbusters.
For more than 25 years,[25]WPVI-TV has partnered with theBoy Scouts of AmericaCradle of Liberty Council in theirScouting For Food program to collectively coordinate one of the most massive food drives in the nation.[26] Until 2006, it was called the6abc/Boy Scouts Holiday Food Drive. In 2006, the Holiday Food Drive amassed 120,000 lbs of food,[27] and for 2010 Boy Scouts troops' efforts led to the collection of over 40,000 pounds of food towards the cumulative total.[26] The food drive distributes paper bags to residents' homes and collection boxes at local stores in the region. A few weeks later, they are sent to help those in need at Thanksgiving and the end of year holidays. TheBoy Scouts also go to the parade route every year and collect food from spectators. The parade and food drive sponsors are generally the same.[28] In June 2011, Dunkin' Donuts announced that they would also co-sponsor the food drive. Proceeds of the food drive currently benefitPhilabundance.
