Novant Health Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Novant Health Thanksgiving Day Parade, previously known as the Carolinas' Carrousel Parade and in 2008 and 2009 as the Carolinas' Thanksgiving Day Parade, is a Thanksgiving Day parade held in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. The parade was founded in 1947, and in 2013 Novant Health became the parade's title sponsor, taking over sponsorship from Belk. Starting in 1967, Carolina's Carrousel, Inc. has held a scholarship program for students recognizing those with outstanding academic achievements and community involvement. From 1998 to 2012 scholarships were also awarded to outstanding marching band students. The Carrousel  Queen title was awarded to the high school senior girl with the top scholarship in the program; however, the title was changed to Carrousel Scholar in 2011. Traditionally, Carolinas' Carrousel Parade was one of the few Thanksgiving Day parades held in the afternoon as opposed to the morning (although the first several parades were held in the evening). However, the parade was moved to mornings beginning in 2008. The parade is the largest gathering of Carolinians and has been named as the fourth-largest in the United States, with an estimated 100,000 spectators. The parade is also televised with tape -delay on CBS 3. In 2016, it was streamed live on the station's web site. History. Novant Health Parade. In the summer of 2013, Carolinas Carrousel announced the parade would not happen that year after Belk was no longer the title sponsor; however, Novant Health took over as sponsor in August and the parade was able to continue as normal. Charlotte Center City Partners began producing the now Novant Health Thanksgiving Day Parade and brought new life to the annual parade. The first Novant Health Thanksgiving Day Parade started at 9:30 and provided more live entertainment. In addition to  Novant Health taking over as sponsor, the parade offered more live performances at Levine Center for the Arts. There was also the appearance of segwaloons, the creation of parade executive, Robert Krumbine. This creation is a cross between a Segway and a balloon and is unique to the Novant Health Thanksgiving Day Parade. The 2013 parade also included 15 marching bands, 8 larger-than-life balloons, 15 floats, performers, sports organizations and community organizations and characters. The 2014 parade was the first in many years to move northward, starting at Stonewall Street and ending at Ninth Street; Krumbine said this  was the route the parade had to begin with. It included the song "Celebrate the Season" written by Rob Pottorf, and reserved seating for which tickets were sold. The parade continued to move north until 2018, when it returned to moving south again. With 2020 being cancelled on grounds of COVID-19 pandemic, CBS 3 aired a "Best Of" parade, plus virtual guests. In 2021, the parade moved to 6 P.M. the night before Thanksgiving.