DETROIT, Nov. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- WDIV-TV Local 4 is the official television station of "America's Thanksgiving Parade presented by Art Van." The annual live broadcast from Woodward Avenue is hosted by Local 4 anchors Carmen Harlan and Devin Scillian along with Ben Bailey, Rhonda Walker, Evrod Cassimy and Chuck Gaidica, and begins at 9 a.m. Thanksgiving morning. The national broadcast, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., reaches more than 140 major cities across the country.

"Local 4 News Today: Special Thanksgiving Edition" coverage begins at 6 a.m. followed at 8 a.m. with "Parade Preview" coverage live from the parade route. Ben Bailey, Rhonda Walker, Evrod Cassimy, Brandon Roux, Paula Tutman, Kim DeGiulio and Chuck Gaidica take viewers behind-the-scenes for an up-close view of all the excitement going on Thanksgiving morning. Plus, the latest weather forecasts for parade day and up-to-the-minute traffic and parking updates so those headed downtown can avoid delays, road closures and construction.

The cast from the Tony, Grammy and Olivier award-winning musical "Jersey Boys" will be performing and Darryl "DMC" Matthews, musician and founding member of the hip hop group Run-DMC and The Contours featuring Joe Billingslea, Motown Records soul singing group, will make special guest appearances.

Other celebrities appearing in "America's Thanksgiving Parade" include this year's Grand Marshal Tim Allen, Golden Globe award-winning actor, comedian and Michigan native; U.S. soccer stars Ali Krieger and Crystal Dunn; "Access Hollywood" reporter Liz Hernandez; Willie Horton, former Detroit Tiger great; Miss Michigan 2016 Susie Leica; Miss Michigan 2015 Emily Kieliszewski; 2016 Miss Michigan Teen Unjanee Wells and 2015 Miss Michigan Teen Vanessa Chambe; and Honorary Grand Marshal Stephen Henderson, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, host of WDET's "Detroit Today" and editorial page editor for the Detroit Free Press.

Also, Detroit's favorite mascots PAWS, Roary and Hooper will be among the crowd, in addition to Kung Fu Panda, from the upcoming movie and, as always, Santa Claus.

Throughout "America's Thanksgiving Parade" broadcast on Local 4, viewers can win special prizes while watching at home. They can also vote for their favorite high school bands marching at the parade in our "Battle of the Bands" contest, as well as vote for the "Best Choreography Around a Float" at ClickOnDetroit.com. Local 4's news and parade coverage will be live streamed on ClickOnDetroit.com from 6 a.m. to Noon Thanksgiving day so viewers can watch from wherever they are -- anywhere around the world.

"America's Thanksgiving Parade presented by Art Van" is created and produced by The Parade Company.



    Thanksgiving Morning Lineup

    6 a.m. to 8 a.m.      "Local 4 News Today: Special
                          Thanksgiving Edition"

    8 a.m. to 9 a.m.      "Local 4 News Today: Parade
                          Preview"

    9 a.m. to Noon        "America's Thanksgiving Parade
                          presented by Art Van"

About WDIV-TV Local 4
WDIV-TV Local 4 is honored to be recognized as Station of the Year by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. Local 4 News is currently the #1 newscast at 4 p.m., 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. in Nielsen ratings for the Detroit television market, and Local 4 News at 11 p.m. is the highest-rated newscast of all NBC affiliates in the top 12 markets nationwide. Local 4's ClickOnDetroit.com is the leading breaking news and weather website in Michigan and metro Detroit's #1 TV media website.

About Graham Media Group
Graham Media Group (www.GrahamMedia.com), a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC), owns five local TV stations--each in a top-50 market and all recognized as news leaders--reaching 6.3% of U.S. television households: KPRC-Houston and WDIV-Detroit (NBC); KSAT-San Antonio (ABC); WKMG-Orlando (CBS); and WJXT-Jacksonville (independent). The stations also broadcast digital channels focused on classic television and operate market-leading websites, mobile sites and mobile apps that deliver breaking news, weather and community news, reaching millions of users across each platform. Graham Media Group owns SocialNewsDesk, a leading provider of social media software solutions used in more than 600 newsrooms worldwide.

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SOURCE WDIV-TV Local 4