Mark Your Calendars: Raleigh Christmas Parade is coming up

The 2.5 hour parade, which winds through downtown Raleigh, starts at 9:40 a.m. and features all manner of local businesses, children's organization, performance groups and more.

Posted 1:17 a.m. Nov 12, 2013 — Updated 1:17 a.m. Nov 12, 2013

Sarah Lindenfeld Hall

The WRAL Raleigh Christmas Parade, which my family never misses, is set for Nov. 23.

The 2.5 hour parade, which winds through downtown Raleigh, starts around 10 a.m. and features all manner of local businesses, community organizations, performance groups, a few big balloons and more. It all ends with a visit from Santa Claus.

This year, the grand marshal is N.C. State College of Design professor Justin LeBlanc from TV's hit show "Project Runway."

The route moves down Hillsborough Street from St. Mary's to the State Capitol where it turns and moves down Fayetteville Street. It will end at Lenoir Street where you'll find the Winterfest ice rink ready for business. It opens on Nov. 22.

This is a very popular parade that draws thousands downtown. At my house, my husband always goes out about an hour before the parade begins to save a spot for us. We like the Hillsborough Street vantage point.

Prefer to enjoy the parade from your home? WRAL-TV, morning news personalities Bill Leslie, Kelcey Carlson and Elizabeth Gardner will host the festivities on television and WRAL.com. Join the conversation on Twitter with #WRALparade.

Tune in for a parade replay 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.

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