ABC11 Raleigh Christmas Parade presented by Shop Local Raleigh: What you need to know

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The 2023 ABC11 Raleigh Christmas Parade presented by Shop Local Raleigh kicks off November 18 in downtown Raleigh. It is the largest Christmas parade between Washington D.C. and Atlanta.

Festivities will start at 9:30 a.m. street side, but you can also watch it live here. Anyone visiting in person should arrive early. Parking decks and street parking will be open but fill up on a first-come first-served basis.

Parade Weather

Nice conditions for the big day.

Parade Info

The parade starts on Hillsborough Street at St. Mary's Street. It goes down to the State Capitol and turns right onto Salisbury Street. It then goes around the State Capitol, left onto Morgan Street and right onto Fayetteville Street. The parade will then continue down Fayetteville Street until Lenoir Street.

That's approximately 1.4 miles, and it is expected to last about 2.5 hours.

For parking purposes, there are some road closures you should know about. These will be closed from around 6 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Ana Rivera shows the closures due to the parade.

• Hillsborough St from W Morgan St to St. Mary's St and St. Mary St from College Place to W. Morgan St
• Hillsborough St from St. Mary St to Salisbury St and all cross-streets one block in each direction
• W Hargett St from McDowell to Wilmington St
• Fayetteville St from Hargett St to Lenoir St and all cross-streets one block between

The parade is hosted by ABC11 Eyewitness News morning anchors Barbara Gibbs, John Clark and ABC11 First Alert Meteorologist Kweilyn Murphy. Anchors Amber Rupinta and Joel Brown will also be a part of the festive event. ABC11's morning traffic reporter Ana Rivera will serve as street-side reporter.

ABC11 anchors Steve Daniels, Lauren Johnson, Chief Meteorologist Don Schwenneker and special guest ABC News correspondent Stephanie Ramos will make an appearance at Red Hat during the parade.

The rest of the Eyewitness News Team including Josh Chapin, Michael Perchick, Akilah Davis, Cindy Bae, Jamiese Price, Diane Wilson, Robert Johnson, Travon Miles will be walking in the parade itself. Coverage on ABC11 will begin at 9:30 a.m.

This year, Shop Local Raleigh says the parade will feature 115 entries, including energizing bands, super-sized balloons, marchers, youth performers, community groups and more.

Retired Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward will be the Grand Marshal.

Watch the entire event on ABC11 and the ABC11 North Carolina streaming app starting at 9:30 a.m.