We haven’t found a 2026 Thanksgiving parade in Grand Rapids with posted details yet. In all we found two Thanksgiving-weekend outings in and around Grand Rapids: one turkey trot with a kids’ race and one Black Friday weekend pick. We also list three places and whether they’re open on Thanksgiving Day.
Thursday to Sunday
Everything below, laid out by day. Tap any outing to jump to its details.
Nothing posted yet
Thursday morning
Start time, route and what to know with a stroller, from the organizer’s page.
We check the organizers every week. The 2 outings below are confirmed on their official pages.
Run it off
Kids’ races, family walks and stroller rules, from each race’s own page.
Van Andel Arena · Downtown
For kids: LMCU Mini Trot for ages 1–12, free; the 1-mile Family Walk is open to 12 and under too
With littles: The 34th year, starting and finishing in front of Van Andel Arena, benefiting GRPS student-athletes.
Thanksgiving Day
Holiday hours from each place’s own page. Worth a quick check that morning.
Friday to Sunday
Tree lightings, light-display openings, farm days and other easy outings Friday through Sunday.
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Michigan's Farm Garden · Grand Rapids, MI
With littles: Santa visits opening this weekend. Outdoor; meet Santa and see/feed his reindeer; photo ops.
More to come.Tree lightings and holiday openings often post closer to the holiday. We add them every Thursday.Get the Friday emailKeep planning
Good questions
We haven’t found 2026 details for a Thanksgiving parade in Grand Rapids yet. We check again every Thursday and add it as soon as the organizer posts it.
Grand Rapids Turkey Trot and LMCU Mini Trot: Thu, Nov 26, 2026. LMCU Mini Trot for ages 1–12, free; the 1-mile Family Walk is open to 12 and under too.
Closed on Thanksgiving: Grand Rapids Children's Museum, Frederik Meijer Gardens and Grand Rapids Public Museum. Check the venue page the morning of, since holiday hours can change.
Santa's Magical Reindeer Meet and Greet. Dates and times are on each card.
Each listing comes from the venue’s or organizer’s own page and links to it. We only list a date, time or price when that page shows it, and anything we can’t confirm stays off. These were last checked Oct 18, 2026, and we recheck them every Thursday through Thanksgiving week. How we choose and check.
Littles Weekly
One short email every Friday morning: the best things to do with little kids in GR that weekend, Thanksgiving week included.
Free things to do in GR
Indoor play in GR
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