The annual Thanksgiving Day Parade will be held in downtown Fountain Hills tomorrow morning, Nov. 25. The parade will feature more than 60 entries and one big change, a new parade route.

The Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Fountain Hills collaborated on a new parade route to benefit the attendees of both the Turkey Trot 5K and the Thanksgiving Day Parade. The new route is designed to address problems that arose from both parking and accessibility issues for both events.

The parade will now start at the intersection of Parkview Avenue and Saguaro Boulevard. The route will head south on Saguaro, turn right onto Avenue of the Fountains and head west toward La Montana. Parade participants will use the roundabout to turn back onto Avenue of the Fountains and head east, where they will turn right, back onto Saguaro. The parade will officially end at the intersection of El Lago and Saguaro Boulevard.

Attendees are encouraged to line both Saguaro Boulevard and Avenue of the Fountains to view the parade following the Turkey Trot. Announcer stations will be located on the parade route so attendees can follow along with the parade entries.

For those participating in the parade, staging will be assigned on both Verde River Road and Parkview Avenue. The Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce plans to communicate with parade entries about staging procedures as the event nears.

The annual Thanksgiving Day Parade kicks off at 9:30 a.m. The event has come to be known as the only Thanksgiving Day parade west of the Mississippi and boasts dozens of participants ranging from veterans’ groups and floats to equestrian entries and marching bands. And don’t forget the big finale, Santa Claus officially arrives to Fountain Hills for the first time this holiday season riding in a fire engine.

The Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce thanks Fountain View Village, MorningStar of Fountain Hills, Silver Tree Wealth Partners - Michael Maroon, and Off-Road Jeep Adventures for sponsoring the event.