For Immediate Release: 10/31/2013 Annual Thanksgiving Parade to be Held November 23 In Silver Spring; More Than 100 Units to Participate The local holiday season officially gets underway on Saturday, November 23 when the 16th Annual Montgomery County Thanksgiving Parade steps off at 10 a.m. from Ellsworth Drive and Fenton Street in Downtown Silver Spring. Traveling the same route as last year, the parade will proceed south on Georgia Avenue, ending at Silver Spring Avenue. ABC 7 Meteorologist Brian van de Graaff will once again serve as master of ceremonies introducing more than 100 parade units. In addition to the ever-popular Washington Redskins Marching Band, the parade will feature glittering floats, a wide variety of local marching bands, beauty queens, clowns, fire engines and animal groups. As always, the parade will end with elves, reindeer and Santa’s sleigh. The parade will be held rain or shine and will be broadcast live on NewsChannel 8. The telecast will be repeated on Thanksgiving Day. For more information about the parade, call 240-777-6821. Volunteers The parade is looking for volunteers to be Smurfs, elves and pilgrims on floats or to lead balloons. Volunteers, age 10 and older, can hand out candy to the crowd, dress up in costume and ride on the floats, act as unit leaders or to be balloon handlers. Hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (volunteers need to be present the whole time) on Saturday, November 23. Volunteers meet at the Silver Spring Civic Building at One Veterans Place at Ellsworth Drive and Fenton Street. Parking The north-bound lanes of Georgia Avenue from East-West Highway to Colesville Road will close at 7 a.m. and re-open after the conclusion of the parade at approximately 1 p.m. Ellsworth Drive, Fenton Street and Roeder Road will close beginning at 6 a.m., with limited access to Cedar Drive and Pershing Street. Free parking will be available in the public garages, including the Wayne Avenue Garage, the Sligo Avenue Garage and the Bonifant Street Garage next to the Metro station. The Spring Street and Ellsworth Town Center garages are closed that day to accommodate the parade. The Town Center public parking garage at Ellsworth Drive will close at 2 a.m. Saturday. Parade-goers are encouraged to take the Metro Red Line to the Silver Spring station, just west of Georgia Avenue, across from the Discovery building. # # # Release ID: 13-335 Media Contact: Susan Hoffmann 240-777-6962 or Elizabeth Gallauresi301-793-2928

http://www6.montgomerycountymd.gov/apps/News/press/PR_details.asp?PrID=13093

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