First Thanksgiving Day Parade

The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History is hosting a Firstival on Saturday, November 7, to mark the anniversary of the first Thanksgiving Day parade in Philadelphia. It's part of 52 Weeks of Firsts, a citywide celebration produced by the Philadelphia Historic District 250th Committee—a partnership of 23 museums and cultural institutions—to mark the 250th anniversary of America in 2026. The series runs from January 3 to December 26, with free Saturday Firstivals from 11 AM to 1 PM. This particular one honors the very first Thanksgiving Day parade, which Philadelphia staged in 1920.

Each Firstival follows the same format: an opening ceremony, a storyteller, family activities, music, entertainment, giveaways, and selfie stations. There's also a sculpture on display, painted by Mural Arts Philadelphia. The November 7 session focuses on that 1920 parade, so the storytelling and activities will center on that particular piece of the city's history. If you've been following the series since January, you know the drill—it's a couple of hours on a Saturday morning with a few different things to do at once, so you can hang out as long as you like.

Philadelphia's fall and winter programming is built around the Semiquincentennial, with the city spotlighting its own firsts. The parade is just one of them; the city is also highlighting the first public showing of a motion picture in 1870 and the cheesesteak in the 1930s. It's a way of looking at the 250th anniversary through the things that actually happened here on these streets.

The Firstival runs from 11 AM to 1 PM on Saturday, November 7, and it's free to attend.