Thanksgiving is right around the corner and we all know what that means right…food, fun, family and PARADES! Well, the Macy’s Day Parade isn’t the only game in town. The 80th McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade will be in full effect in Chicago and so will rides provided by Chrysler. The highlight will be a live broadcast from The Ram pick up carrying Ryan Salzwedel, host of the The Ram Weekend Workbench.

Here’s the details:

While the turkeys are being stuffed on Thanksgiving Day, Chrysler Group vehicles will transport celebrities, dignitaries, floats and even Santa down State Street as part of the 80TH McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade in downtown Chicago – Thursday, November 28, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. (CST). Chrysler Group will also showcase its celebrity partners and media drivers in addition to providing the horsepower for the parade.

The “Ram Weekend Workbench” host Ryan Salzwedel, will be enjoy the parade from the back of the Ram 1500 pick-up truck used to tackle his weekend projects. In addition, hot off the announcement of his new full-time role hosting WGN’s “Chicago’s Best,” Elliott Bambrough will be introduced to the Chicago audience in the back of a Jeep Wrangler.

At a much slower speed than he’s accustomed, the 2014 SRT Viper GTS will be driven by the Chrysler Group’s SRT Motorsports Team driver Kuno Wittmer. Wittmer was part of the SRT Motorsports team that competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and won at Road America this year.

“Getting the opportunity to share in this time-honored Thanksgiving Day tradition is a real privilege for the Chrysler Group,” said Gualberto Ranieri, Chrysler Group Vice President of Communications. “We are especially excited to see Santa increase the power and fuel economy of his ride from eight reindeer to the HEMI V-8 with an eight-speed transmission in the new 2014 Dodge Durango.”

Remaining floats and dignitaries will be driven by many automotive journalists from the Midwest as well as Chrysler Group employees from the nearby Belvidere (Ill.) Assembly Plant, which manufactures the Dodge Dart, Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot.

Chrysler Group is the official automotive sponsor of the McDonald’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Chicago, providing 27 vehicles to support the parade and its organizers. The award-winning all-new 2013 Ram 1500 pickup trucks, Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee will use their class-leading towing capabilities to pull the many floats featured in the parade. In addition, parade celebrities and dignitaries will enjoy the view of State Street from the back of Chrysler 200 convertibles, Fiat 500 cabrios and Jeep Wranglers.

In addition, Chrysler Group will also have an official parade entry featuring one vehicle from each of the company’s six brands: the all-new four-door Fiat 500L, the all-new Jeep Cherokee, the Illinois-built Dodge Dart, the award-winning Ram 1500, Chrysler 300 and the 2014 SRT Viper GTS in adrenaline red.

For those not in Chicago, the parade is broadcast, in its entirety, live for three hours on WGN 9 Chicago and WGN America. The 2013 McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade takes place live on State Street between Congress Parkway and Randolph Street in downtown Chicago on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 28 from 8 to 11 a.m. (CST).

The McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade takes place rain or shine, Thursday, November 28, from 8 to 11 a.m., on State Street, in Chicago. For more information about the McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade, visit Chicago Festival Association online at www.chicagofestivals.org.