What would Thanksgiving morning be without waving beauty queens and giant floating balloon characters? America's Thanksgiving Parade has been sailing down Woodward for nearly 80 years, and this year's pageantry promises not to disappoint.

The parade kicks off in front of the Detroit Public Library. As it travels south on Woodward to Grand Circus Park, more than 1 million paradegoers will see floats like General Motors' Let Freedom Ring, Art Van's Twelve Dancing Princesses and DTE Energy's Energy Innovators. The parade is the work of The Parade Company, the Detroit non-profit that puts on the International Freedom Festival each summer. -- Alexa Stanard (Photo: Courtesy of The Parade Compa