Franklin’s annual Veterans Day Parade will return to downtown Wednesday, marking the event’s 25th anniversary.
The parade, organized by the City of Franklin and WAKM AM-950, will begin at 11:00 a.m. at West Main Street and Fifth Avenue. The procession will travel down Main Street from Five Points to the Public Square, continue to Third Avenue North, and conclude at Bicentennial Park.
“Join us Wednesday, November 11, at 11 a.m. for our annual Veterans Day Parade in Downtown Franklin. It’s a great opportunity for our community to come together to honor the men and women who have served our country,” the city said in a social media post.
Join us Wednesday, November 11, at 11 a.m. for our annual Veterans Day Parade in Downtown Franklin. It's a great opportunity for our community to come together to honor the men and women who have served our country.
Parade Details:
The parade begins at Five Points and travels… pic.twitter.com/saQMMClupR— City of Franklin (@CityOfFranklin) November 9, 2026
According to the city, this year’s parade will feature Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps units and marching bands from Williamson County high schools. The city also said the Franklin Special School District will be sending “a large group of students to participate and show their appreciation for veterans.”
Before the parade, a reception for local veterans and their families will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the Williamson County Archives and Museum.
Wednesday’s event is expected to draw approximately 50,000 spectators, with as many as 5,000 participants marching through downtown, according to The Williamson Herald, which also highlighted that this year’s parade will mark the final year for longtime committee chairman Tom Lawrence, who has led the organizing committee since the event’s revival 25 years ago.
Lawrence helped bring the parade back in 2001 following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Franklin previously held a Veterans Day parade in 1946 to welcome home American troops returning from World War II.
Two veterans will serve as grand marshals this year: Art Jacobs, an Army captain and Vietnam helicopter pilot, and Beverly Williams, an Air Force captain and nurse who served in Vietnam with the Air National Guard.
For more information about Wednesday’s parade, including a map of the parade route, click here.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
