Get ready! Raleigh Christmas parade this Saturday

The parade begins at 9:40 a.m., Saturday, starting at the corner of Hillsborough and St. Mary's streets and eventually making its way down Fayetteville Street. There are 115 entries, including marching bands, floats, balloons, animals, vehicles and more. Santa rolls through at the end of the parade.

The grand marshal of this year’s parade is Ira David Wood III, whose Theater in the Park is celebrating the 40th anniversary of "A Christmas Carol."

About 65,000 people typically turn out to see the parade, one of the largest along the East Coast, in person. To score a decent piece of concrete along the parade route, my family has found that it's best to show up at least an hour or so early. Be prepared for traffic and bring your patience and hot chocolate!

WRAL will begin airing live coverage of the parade at 10 a.m., Saturday. The parade will be replayed on television each Saturday in December at 10 a.m. on WRAL2, plus a special holiday presentation on WRAL-TV at 4 p.m. on Christmas Day.