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A Charlotte Thanksgiving tradition will be renewed with the 63rd annual Carolinas Thanksgiving Day Parade and the accompanying Carrousel Pageant this week.
The parade, ranked by the travel Web site Travelmuse as the fourth-biggest Thanksgiving parade in the United States, takes place at 10 a.m. in Charlotte's uptown (the second year for the earlier starting time). As usual, it will feature more than 100 units, including 14 marching bands.
Moira Quinn, of Charlotte Center City Partners, said this year's parade will have something special for horse-lovers. "There will be more horses this year than any other time," she said.
Parade organizers estimated the crowd in recent years at about 100,000. It will be broadcast at 1 p.m. (the parade's starting time for many years) Thursday on WBTV (Charlotte cable channel 3).
This year's grand marshal is former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt.
The pageant is Wednesday evening at the Charlotte Center City Marriott hotel. Queens crowned at dozens of Carolinas high schools will compete for scholarships, and they'll be in Thursday's parade.
The event also has a scholarship competition for marching band members. Providence High School, the winner of last year's band competition, will be the honor band this year.
Details: www.carrouselparade.org.
