Motown float returning to Detroit's Thanksgiving parade as Amazon takes on sponsor role

Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press
·2 min read

A revived float showcasing Detroit’s Motown legacy will return as a star in America’s Thanksgiving Parade.

Officials with the Motown Museum, Amazon and the Parade Company gathered Wednesday to unveil the festive float, which is decorated with giant musical notes, vinyl records, piano keys and a replica of the famous Hitsville, U.S.A. house.

The event was held outside Amazon’s new Detroit fulfillment center at the old state fairgrounds site, complete with a performance of Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” by five young singers from Hitsville Next, the museum’s artist development program.

Front, from left: Donetta Houser-Sly of Amazon, Tony Michaels of the Parade Company, Robin Terry of the Motown Museum and Ian Conyers of Amazon pose in front of the Motown Museum float at the Amazon Detroit Fulfillment Center on Nov. 15, 2023.
Front, from left: Donetta Houser-Sly of Amazon, Tony Michaels of the Parade Company, Robin Terry of the Motown Museum and Ian Conyers of Amazon pose in front of the Motown Museum float at the Amazon Detroit Fulfillment Center on Nov. 15, 2023.

Amazon is the new sponsor for the float, its first foray into Detroit’s annual Thanksgiving parade. The company on Wednesday also announced a $175,000 donation to the Motown Museum to support Hitsville Next.

Donetta Houser-Sly, a Detroit native who serves as human resources director for Amazon’s North American customer fulfillment division, described Motown as “part of the fabric of who we are.”

The Motown float debuted in 2014 in a partnership with Art Van Furniture but went on hiatus in 2020 following that company’s demise.

Robin Terry, CEO and chairwoman of the Motown Museum, said it “really celebrates everything this great city is known for all around the world.”

The Motown Museum float is returning to America's Thanksgiving Parade in 2023 with new sponsor Amazon.
The Motown Museum float is returning to America's Thanksgiving Parade in 2023 with new sponsor Amazon.

The revived Motown float will be part of a 2023 America’s Thanksgiving Parade featuring broadcaster Huel Perkins and former Detroit Lion Lomas Brown as grand marshals. Three new floats will premiere on the procession down Woodward Avenue: Barton Malow’s “Building Today for a Better Tomorrow,” a student-designed concept spearheaded by the Skillman Foundation, and a float sponsored by Corewell Health.

The 97th America’s Thanksgiving Parade Presented by Gardner White will take place Thanksgiving morning, running down Woodward from Kirby to Congress streets. Coverage on WDIV-TV (Channel 4) will start at 6 a.m.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Motown float returns to Thanksgiving parade with new sponsor Amazon