America’s Hometown

Thanksgiving Parade

Saturday - November 17, 2007
Thanksgiving Parade
Plymouth Center, 9:30AM


America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Parade is held each year at the birthplace of Thanksgiving, Plymouth, Massachusetts. The parade and weekend of festivities has become a beloved holiday occasion as well as an important link to our nation’s history and heritage. For the past twelve years hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life have traveled to the Plymouth Harbor to experience a bounty of authentic Americana. The celebration of Thanksgiving becomes history-brought-to-life as pilgrims, soldiers, patriots, and pioneers proudly climb out of the history books and onto the streets of Plymouth.

The primary sponsor of the event has been Plymouth Rock Foundation, a non-profit organization that strives to keep the traditions and values of early Americans from being forgotten.  Parade Director, Olly deMacedo’s careful attention to detail ensures that costumes, music and floats are historically accurate as well as educationally beneficial. The desire of dedicated historians and thankful Americans to preserve, celebrate and share our nation’s history in a fun and entertaining way is truly the driving force of the parade.

Patriotism and hope is revived in the hearts of observant adults and children as the drum and fife, pipe, drum and bugle corps, and military bands play music honoring the courageous defenders of our country: the men and women who serve in the Army, the Navy, the Marines, the Air Force and the Coast Guard.

America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Parade has also come to represent the corner stone of local economic development for many businesses and merchants. For area shops and restaurants the festivities surrounding the parade offer an opportunity to share lovingly crafted goods and delicious food with thousands of new customers who many not other wise visit the area. The motels/hotels are filled to capacity during the weekend celebration.  The community merchants absolutely feel the economic impact of the yearly event, and it allows them to give back to the community with real and lasting benefits.

Educational and economic factors aside, the parade offers plenty of fun and entertainment to attract visitors from all corners of the United States and even beyond. Music, historical reenactments, vintage American cars and beautiful hand made floats are all part of the visual feast and fun.  The festivities surrounding the parade include displays of authentic early American antiques as well as demonstrations of the making of candles, soaps, and jellies.  Viewers are treated to a visual trip back to the colonial days.

In 2002 Parade Director Olly deMacedo revamped and renamed a local chowder contest, giving birth to what is now the New England Food Festival. The festival is a one-of-a-kind sampling of a wide variety of New England’s famous culinary delights and a forum for local culinary celebrities to showcase their talent.  The food festival is rapidly growing in popularity as a post-parade tradition for locals and out-of-towners alike.