New Spirit Of Detroit Float To Lead Thanksgiving Parade Down Woodward

By Edward Cardenas

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) - The Parade Company unveiled Thursday the Lear Corporation's first-every float that will take part in America's Thanksgiving Parade.

The debut of the new float, which will lead the parade down Woodward on Nov. 27, was conducted in the midst of a snow squall in front of the The Spirit of Detroit statue on Woodward Avenue.

The new "Connecting the Spirit of Detroit to the World" float features a 12-foot-tall replica of The Spirit of Detroit and a carousel of world cities spinning around a giant globe.

"When given the opportunity to support the parade, something that is so iconic of the City of Detroit, we said we are in," said Matt Simoncini, president, CEO and director of Lear Corporation. "The best theme we could come up with working with the great designers from The Parade Company ... was The Spirit of Detroit, connecting the globe. That is what we do at Lear Corporation, and that's what the float is symbolic of."

This is one of the largest single floats ever built by The Parade Company, and includes iconic symbols and flags from the 35 countries around the world where Lear has a presence. It is 45-feet-long and sits 16-feet-tall with wiring that, if extended to its full length, would stretch four miles long, according to parade officials.

"When you think about we have been through, this is a really great way to celebrate where we are going," said Alexis Wiley, chief of staff for Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.

America's Thanksgiving Parade presented by Art Van will step off at 8:50 a.m. at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Kirby Street, adjacent to the Detroit Institute of Arts in Midtown, and end at Congress Street just south of Campus Martius Park in downtown Detroit.