Chicago kicked off Thursday's turkey day festivities with the McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade at Congress Parkway and State Street.
The lineup for the parade includes 2014 grand marshal Dee Snider featuring his Rock & Roll Christmas Tale, with Ronald McDonald as the honorary grand marshal. Some of the honored guests include the Jackie Robinson West Little League national champions on the Big Red Shoe float, the Chicago Fire's Yuri Sardarov and the Hollywood Palms Cinema presenting Karolyn Grimes from "It's a Wonderful Life."
"I can't stop smiling," Sardarov said while riding in the parade Thursday morning. "This is one of the greatest cities in the world."
Wearing a Chicago Blackhawks jersey, Dee Snider talked about his affection for Chicago during the parade.
"I love this place, and everyone here seems to like me," Snider said.
There were several staged performances from the Goodman Theater, the Joffrey Ballet, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Million Dollar Quartet, the Black Ensemble Theater and others, officials said.
The parade began broadcasting about 8 a.m. on WGN-TV and started with a performance from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in front of Macy's.
Marching began about 8:30 a.m. from Congress Parkway at State Street to Randolph Street featuring floats from the Chicago Park District, Garrett Popcorn, WGN-TV, Jewel-Osco and others.
Beside the floats, Mercedes-Benz of Chicago featured a caravan of red and white Mercedes vehicles riding down State. About 23 high school marching bands were scheduled to march in the parade, including the Metropolitan Youth Program and the Thunder Squad Drumline.
The parade tradition started in 1934 during the Great Depression in an effort to stimulate the economy and cheer up Chicagoans.
