Preparations underway for 96th annual 6abc Dunkin' Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- We are roughly three days away from our live broadcast of the 96th annual 6abc Dunkin Donuts Thanksgiving Day parade.

On the Ben Franklin Parkway Monday, the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art were getting decked out in their signature red and green.

The bleachers are up and the broadcast booth is ready to roll.

It's a long-standing Philadelphia tradition and putting on a parade of this size takes a village.

A staff of roughly 30 people are hard at work here at our 6abc studios producing the parade minute by minute.

This is John Best's 17th year heading up the parade and he says it's all about the details.

In this year's lineup: 16 giant helium balloons, 10 smaller festive balloons, 17 floats, 14 marching bands and a record 34 performances. It's all about shining a spotlight on local talent.

"Half of the performers you will be seeing on the air during our 3 and a half hour extravaganza will be Philadelphia performers - singers, dancers and celebrities included," said Best. "We have Viva Moss, who actually performed for the pope when he was here. We have Ariel Burrell and Bianca Ryan who were on 'America's Got Talent'."

And this year's grand marshal is Delran, New Jersey native and FIFA World Cup champion, Carli Lloyd.

It's a jam-packed program, and of course it all comes to a close with a grand finale starring Santa and Mrs. Claus.

You can watch the 96th Annual 6abc Dunkin' Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade, hosted by Rick Williams and Cecily Tynan, starting at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday on 6abc.