Local Olympians, marching bands, live ballet performances, a giant T-Rex and a visit from Santa are expected to be among the highlights of Saturday’s annual Montgomery County Thanksgiving Parade in downtown Silver Spring.
“The Thanksgiving Parade is a Montgomery County tradition that brings our community together to celebrate the start of the holiday season with friends, family and neighbors,” County Executive Marc Elrich said Friday in a statement.
The parade, which began in 1997, is expected to begin at 10 a.m. at Ellsworth Drive and Fenton Street and proceed south on Georgia Avenue, ending at Silver Spring Avenue around noon.
Montgomery County Olympians Thea LaFond and Aaron Ghebre Owusu are expected to participate, according to the county.
LaFond, a former Montgomery County Public Schools teacher and Silver Spring resident, competed in track and field for Dominica in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. LaFond set a national record for her birth country and secured the first-ever Olympic gold medal for Dominica in the women’s triple jump.
Owusu, a first-time Olympian, represented his birth country of Eritrea in the men’s 50-meter freestyle swim in the Paris Olympics.
The parade line-up is expected to include community groups, marching bands, floats, mascots and live performances from Akhmedova Ballet Academy and Maryland Youth Ballet, both located in Downtown Silver Spring. Performances from dance groups and marching bands will occur near the beginning of the parade, according to the county.
The parade will also include stilt walkers, a giant T-Rex and Monty, an inflatable penguin. Monty the Penguin is Silver Spring’s unofficial mascot and comes from the Sally Callmer Thompson mural, “Penguin Rush Hour” outside the Silver Spring Metro station.
Typically, about 1,500 people participate in 130 parade units. This year’s parade is expanding to 150 units.
According to the county, parade organizers are also seeking volunteers age 13 and older to participate as costumed characters. Those interested in volunteering can sign up at the parade website.
The following roads will be closed from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday due to the parade:
- North and Southbound lanes of Georgia Ave., from East-West Highway to Colesville Road;
- Cedar Street between Colesville Road and Wayne Avenue;
- Pershing Drive from Cedar Street to Veterans Place;
- Veterans Place from Pershing Drive to Ellsworth Drive;
- Ellsworth Drive from Georgia Avenue to Cedar Street;
- Roeder Road from Fenton Street to Cedar Street;
- Fenton Street from Cameron Street to Wayne Avenue;
- Bonifant Street from Georgia Avenue to Fenton Street; and
- Wayne, Thayer and Silver Spring avenues from Georgia Avenue to Fenton Street.
Parking for attendees will be available in the Sligo Avenue, Cameron Street and Bonifant Street public garages. The Ellsworth Town Center garage will close to the public at 2 a.m. Saturday. The county is also encouraging attendees to take Metro’s Red Line to the Silver Spring station for access to the parade route.
–Bethesda Magazine journalist Stephanie Siegel Burke contributed to this report
