McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade

The McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade, "Chicago's Grand Holiday Tradition", is an annual parade produced and presented by the Chicago Festival Association (CFA). It is held on State Street in Downtown Chicago, Illinois, every Thanksgiving morning from 8 am until 11 am CST. The parade is telecast live on WGN-TV in the Chicago media market and on WGN America.

In 1934, the United States had been in the Great Depression for six years. Many leaders in Chicago searched for ways to boost the economy as well as public spirit. Walter Gregory, President of Chicago's State Street Council, proposed a Christmas parade to Chicago Mayor Edward Kelly in the hopes that it would improve the moods of Chicago residents. The Mayor agreed to the parade, being primarily interested in its potential to improve Chicago's economy.

Chicago's first Christmas Parade was on State Street on December 7, 1934. Gregory and a costumed Santa Claus led the caravan, which was filled with toys and various merchandise from State Street businesses. As the city's government officials had hoped, the parade contributed to desirable growth in the local economy and 1934 held the city's largest holiday buying period since 1927. This was both exciting and surprising for the entire city. Not only was it the Depression, but that day held dangerously low temperatures throughout the entire state. Some areas of Illinois were as low as fourteen degrees below zero (Fahrenheit).

In 1935, the city was in even worse financial status as a result of the Depression. The city could not afford the expensive floats that were used the year before. However, the event had been so successful in the previous year that The State Street Council and the City of Chicago agreed to use an old trolley to pull the floats, as there were trolley tracks on State Street at the time.

The parade underwent a leadership change in 1968, when the Mayor's Office of Special Events took over the responsibility of producing the holiday parade when the State Street Council determined that it could no longer fund the parade. Mayor Richard J. Daley assures the children of Chicago that Santa Claus will still be coming to town as usual.

In 1969, the Chicago Tribune reported that more than 1.5 million people lined the parade route.

In 1981, Over 100 Santas hand out over 10,000 balloons as hundreds of thousands watch the parade.

The parade saw its first title sponsor in 1984. The parade was renamed "The Ronald McDonald Children's Charities Parade." The route of the parade was also changed from State Street to Michigan Avenue. McDonald's was the title sponsor until 1989, and has had some sort of sponsorship with the parade to this day.

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