Detroit
International Jazz Fest Takes Festival From the Plaza to the Parade
Route with New Float
Rendering
courtesy of The Parade Company
DETROIT
– The Parade Company is excited to announce they
are building a new float for the Detroit International Jazz Festival
for the 83rd America’s Thanksgiving Parade®. The “Jazz
on the Plaza” float, representing Detroit’s end-of-summer
ritual at Hart Plaza on Labor Day Weekend, will make its debut
along Woodward Avenue on Thanksgiving morning on Thursday, November
26, 2009.
“For the past 30 years, the Detroit International Jazz Fest
has expanded its educational programs for young musicians and
as a part of this experience we decided to have a float in America’s
Thanksgiving Parade®, showing Hart Plaza as a site for jazz
performances on Labor Day weekend,” said Bob McCabe, founder
of the Detroit International Jazz Festival Foundation.
“All of us connected with the Detroit International Jazz
Festival are so proud of what it has become, one of the best and
largest free festivals in the country. That is quite an accomplishment,”
said Gretchen Carhartt Valade, president of the Detroit International
Jazz Festival Foundation. “And I hope you will excuse us
if we show off a little by participating in another wonderful
event, the America’s Thanksgiving Parade®. Watching
the parade has always been one of my most favorite Detroit experiences
and to have the Jazz Festival represented in it will be absolutely
incredible.”
The Jazz on the Plaza float features the popular landmarks at
Hart Plaza, including a replica of the Horace E. Dodge and Son
Memorial Fountain and the underground concert bowl and sign. While
the real 14-acre Hart Plaza can fit up to 40,000 people, this
float will accommodate up to 12 musicians.
“I’m thrilled to have The Parade Company working to
create a fun and spirited float for such a cherished and longtime
tradition in the city of Detroit,” said Tony Michaels, President
and CEO, The Parade Company. “It’s only fitting to
have the Jazz Fest represented in one of the oldest and most celebrated
Thanksgiving Parades in the country.”
This year’s Parade themed, Together We Shine, will feature
crowd favorites and new surprises with more than 60 Parade units
including floats, balloons, marching bands, clowns and specialty
acts. The 1.5 mile-long Parade steps off at 9:20 a.m. on Thursday,
November 26, 2009 at Woodward Avenue and Mack and ends at Woodward
Avenue and Congress in downtown Detroit. Hundreds of thousands
of parade-goers will be watching as the Parade makes its way down
Woodward Avenue.
The two-hour Parade will be featured on WDIV Local 4 including
a one-hour national broadcast reaching nearly 65 million households
nationwide. NewsTalk 760 WJR will also broadcast live from the
Parade. For more information on The Parade Company, visit www.theparade.org
or call 313.923.7400.
