You won’t find giant inflatable turkeys or department store mascots at the Annual Bayou Classic Parade. But you will find some of the best high school and college marching bands, dance teams, and flag corps in the country strutting their stuff, along with an assortment of floats. The parade is one of many events celebrating the Bayou Classic, an annual game between rival HBCU football teams. The Southern University Jaguars and Grambling State Tigers face off in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

The parade kicks off at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, November 30 at Elysian Fields Avenue at N. Peters Street and finishes on Loyola Avenue at Perdido Street.

You didn’t think New Orleanians would let a holiday go by without drinking and dressing up, did you? Thanksgiving at the race course is a local tradition, one made even sweeter by the presence of an outlandish chapeau. There’s free slot play, giveaways, and lunch specials—plus the Thanksgiving Handicap and a $75,000 purse. Thoroughbred races start at 1:30 p.m.  Admission is free, and children are allowed.

More than 1 million holiday lights bedeck City Park’s live oaks, many of which are more than 600 years old. The botanical gardens, amusement park, and Storyland all get a special holiday treatment for Celebration in the Oaks, which kicks off November 29 and runs through New Year’s Day. Admission is $10.

The oldest ongoing foot race in the country kicks off at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 28 at Tad Gormley Stadium. There’s a 5K and a half-mile race for kids, and both courses wind through City Park. Yes, some people will inevitably dress up as turkeys, but it’s all for a good cause (proceeds benefit Spina Bifida of Greater New Orleans).