Thousands of people lined the streets in downtown Raleigh Saturday morning to take in the WRAL-TV Raleigh Christmas Parade, the Triangle's annual kickoff event for the holiday season.

Presented by Shop Local Raleigh, the biggest parade between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta drew more than 50,000 people to the Fayetteville Street area. Attendees were greeted by sunshine and cool temperatures, as the mercury climbed from the mid-40s into the 50s as the parade snaked through downtown.

In its 68th year, the 2012 edition of the parade featured more than 115 entries, including fantastic floats, super-sized balloons, marching bands, entertainers, specialty vehicles and a special North Pole visitor.

"American Idol" contestant and North Carolina native Emily Minor served as the grand marshal, and WRAL-TV morning news personalities Bill Leslie, Kelcey Carlson and Brian Shrader hosted the festivities on television and WRAL.com.

Watch the 2012 Christmas Parade:

Slideshow: Floats, balloons, bands at Raleigh Christmas Parade

Slideshow: Holiday cheer warms crowd at Raleigh Christmas Parade  

The parade will be re-broadcast on WRAL2 each Saturday in December and again on Christmas Eve. Check your local listings for times.

Relive the parades of the past:

2010 Christmas Parade

2009 Christmas Parade

2008 Christmas Parade

2007 Christmas Parade

2006 Christmas Parade

2005 Christmas Parade

2004 Christmas Parade 

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