The Montgomery County Thanksgiving Parade starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21, but the first change downtown comes eight hours earlier. At 2 a.m., the Ellsworth Town Center garage closes. Anyone who leaves a car there Friday night for dinner or a movie will find the garage closed before the bands warm up.
The garage is a block from the corner of Ellsworth Drive and Fenton Street, where the parade's grandstand and featured performances will be. Over the next 15 days, Veterans Plaza on that same stretch of Fenton Street hosts the season's next events, including a covered ice rink and a holiday market. Knowing the order of those events makes the parade morning, and the weekends after it, easier to plan.
The Parade Schedule Starts the Night Before
Montgomery County's Nov. 2 parade announcement and the Downtown Silver Spring parade page together give the hour-by-hour plan for Saturday, Nov. 21:
- 2 a.m. The Ellsworth Town Center garage closes.
- 6 a.m. Downtown road closures begin, including both directions of Georgia Avenue between East-West Highway and Colesville Road.
- 8 a.m. The Wayne Avenue garage closes.
- 10 a.m. The parade steps off at Ellsworth Drive and Fenton Street after an opening ribbon-cutting with County Executive Marc Elrich and members of the County Council.
- About 1 p.m. The parade ends and Georgia Avenue is scheduled to reopen.
- By 2 p.m. The Ellsworth Town Center and Wayne Avenue garages are expected to reopen.
The full closure list reaches past Georgia Avenue. Downtown Silver Spring lists Cedar Avenue between Colesville Road and Wayne Avenue and Pershing Drive from Cedar Avenue to Veterans Place. It also lists Veterans Place from Pershing to Ellsworth Drive and Ellsworth Drive from Georgia to Cedar avenues. Roeder Road is closed from Fenton Street to Cedar Avenue, and Fenton Street from Cameron Street to Wayne Avenue. Wayne, Bonifant, Thayer and Silver Spring avenues are each closed from Georgia Avenue to Fenton Street. Through traffic is detoured to East-West Highway. On these blocks, a Saturday errand by car that morning means planning around the closures.
Which Garages Still Work on Parade Morning
The County names three public garages for spectator parking and two that close for the parade.
| Garage | Parade-day status |
|---|---|
| Sligo Avenue | Open for parking |
| Cameron Street | Open for parking |
| Bonifant Street | Open for parking |
| Ellsworth Town Center | Closes 2 a.m., expected back by 2 p.m. |
| Wayne Avenue | Closes 8 a.m., expected back by 2 p.m. |
Visit Montgomery's parade guide describes parking in the Sligo Avenue, Cameron Street and Bonifant Street garages as free. The County and the organizers also point spectators to the Metro Red Line's Silver Spring station, which avoids the closures entirely.
Where the Parade Goes, and What Passes the Grandstand
The route is short. It starts at Ellsworth Drive and Fenton Street, heads south on Georgia Avenue and ends at Silver Spring Avenue. Spectators can watch anywhere along Georgia Avenue, but the featured performances happen near the grandstand at the starting corner. Visit Montgomery reports that past parades have drawn up to 10,000 spectators to watch more than 100 participating groups.
The parade changes seasons partway through. It opens with autumn harvest and Thanksgiving units, then moves into winter holiday displays with giant inflatable turkeys, floats, Hanukkah characters, reindeer, elves and Santa Claus. Five marching bands have published set lists that sound nothing like one another:
- James Hubert Blake High School Roaring Bengals will play Usher's "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" from their Kings of Pop show.
- Springbrook High School Blue Flames will play selections from Love Is More Powerful Than Hate, including Michael Jackson's "Off the Wall" and "Beat It," Elton John's "I'm Still Standing" and Bad Bunny's "Baile Inolvidable."
- Northwood High School Gladiators will play their Lost in the 80s show, with music by Michael Jackson, Kate Bush and The Clash.
- The Spirit of Clarksburg Marching Band marches after a recent trip to Beijing.
- John F. Kennedy High School Marching Cavaliers will be joined by the school's pom squad, color guard and other student groups.
Akhmedova Ballet and Maryland Youth Ballet will give Nutcracker-themed performances. ABC7's Brian van de Graaff, who has hosted the parade for more than a decade, will emcee with lifestyle host Roxanne Strouk. The parade runs rain or shine. Visit Montgomery suggests planning for temperatures in the low to mid 40s.
Neighbors who would rather walk in the parade than watch it can still sign up. Volunteers handle the inflatables, floats and costumed units, and they can dress as a turkey, gingerbread man, elf or dreidel. Adults and students 13 and older who want Student Service Learning hours can register through Downtown Silver Spring.
When the Roads Reopen, Lunch Starts on the Same Blocks
The parade wraps up around 1 p.m., just in time for lunch. Visit Montgomery's guide points to brunch at Java Nation Silver Spring, where the menu includes beef empanadas, French toast and a crab cake burger, and to an IPA or pilsner at Silver Branch Brewing Co. The same guide lists Peoples Book, an independent bookstore, for an early start on holiday gifts.
There's also a newer option this year. Source of the Spring reported in late October that Momiji Sushi & Izakaya had begun a soft opening at 1201 Fidler Lane, across from Mi Rancho. The reported Saturday hours run from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., so a post-parade sushi lunch fits.
Thirteen Days Later, the Plaza Gets Its Ice
Visit Montgomery's guide also recommends the covered outdoor rink at Veterans Plaza after the parade. Under the published 2026–27 schedule, though, the rink doesn't open until noon on Friday, Dec. 4, 13 days after the parade. The season is scheduled to run through March 1, 2027. Anyone hoping to skate on parade day should wait for that first December weekend.
The rink sits at 8523 Fenton Street, so the season's second big event is on the same downtown corner as the first. Visit Montgomery's season listing shows the following:
- Admission: $13 for adults, $12 for children, $12 for seniors
- Skate rental: $5
- Sunday: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Monday through Thursday: noon to 10 p.m.
- Friday: noon to 11 p.m.
- Saturday: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
- Holiday hours, Dec. 19 through Jan. 4: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, with a 9 p.m. close on New Year's Eve
Last season's listing on Downtown Silver Spring showed the same admission prices and standard hours, with opening day on Dec. 5, 2025. Two adults and two children who all need rentals would pay $70 at the listed rates. The extended holiday hours are when weekday daytime skating opens up. From Dec. 19 to Jan. 4, the rink opens at 10 a.m. every day instead of at noon on weekdays.
The First December Weekend Fills In Around the Rink
On Sunday, Dec. 6, two days after the rink opens, Veterans Plaza hosts the Silver Spring Christmas Market & Holiday Craft Show from noon to 4 p.m. at 1 Veterans Place. Visit Montgomery's listing describes it as a free vendor market. With both on the plaza, it's easy to pair the market with an afternoon skate.
A short walk away, AFI Silver's European Union Film Showcase runs Dec. 2 through Dec. 20. AFI set November 10 as the date to announce the complete lineup and schedule on its showcase page. That gives the same walkable blocks three anchors through mid-December: the rink, the market weekend and a film series that runs almost three weeks.
The Ellsworth and Fenton corner that closes before dawn on Nov. 21 is open again by 2 p.m., and on Dec. 4 at noon the Veterans Plaza rink opens on the same corner.
If parade morning gets you wondering which downtown streets and garages you'd deal with every holiday season from a different address, I'm glad to walk through it with you, block by block. Franco Saladino helps Montgomery County households think through the everyday details of a neighborhood, along with the bigger decisions. Let's Connect.
