Why Marietta's Veterans Day Parade Aims for 11:11, and How the Rest of November Fills the Square

At 10:40 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14, the 22nd annual Marietta Veterans Day Parade leaves its staging area on Roswell Street. The schedule is built backward from 11:11 a.m., the moment the Grand Marshal is meant to reach the Square. Horace Orr Post 29 American Legion and the City of Marietta, who host the parade together, say that timing follows "the traditions of the original Armistice Day in 1918."

That clock-time precision runs through the whole month. November's two biggest gatherings on the Square are a Saturday and Thanksgiving morning, and each one is planned down to the minute, with the start times spaced so the crowds come in waves. If you know the timetable, you can catch the part you want without spending the morning circling for parking.

The minute the parade is built around

The city's announcement, posted Aug. 13, 2026, describes the parade as marching bands, drill teams, floats, veterans' organizations and military vehicles coming down Roswell Street to the Square. Post 29's parade listing puts the staging area at Roswell Street Baptist Church and runs the event from 10:40 a.m. to noon.

Post 29's route guidelines give the turns in order:

1. West on Roswell Street from the church staging area
2. North on East Park Square
3. Finish near Cherokee Street and Lawrence Street

That route tells you where to stand. For the 11:11 arrival, the spot is on the Square near where Roswell Street comes in. If you want to watch the full lineup go past, anywhere along Roswell Street before the turn works. The parade wraps up shortly before noon. Then the program moves to Glover Park for a ceremony with speakers, a gun salute and Taps. The ceremony is the quietest part of the morning, and Glover Park is right in the middle of the Square.

Saturday the 14th, from first light to noon

The parade is only one of three things happening on the Square that morning, and each one starts as the one before it winds down.

Post 29 also runs the Veterans Memorial 5K, and its own page confirms the race is the same Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7:30 a.m. The race description in Cobb Travel & Tourism's listing mentions Nov. 8, but the organizer's date is the one to go by. The race starts and finishes at the steps of the historic Cobb County Courthouse. The Marietta Square Farmers Market keeps its year-round Saturday hours of 9 a.m. to noon. The Marietta Visitors Bureau lists Nov. 14 as one of its November market days.

The table shows the whole morning fits into one long visit. You could run the 5K or bring a little one for the Tot Trot, shop the market while the runners clear out, and still be on the curb when the Grand Marshal arrives. The 5K entry fee is $40 through Nov. 13 and $50 on race day. If you'd rather not deal with packet pickup at 6:30 a.m. that Saturday, there are two earlier options:

• Thursday, Nov. 12, 4 to 7 p.m., at Big Peach Running Co., 1062 Johnson Ferry Road
• Friday, Nov. 13, noon to 4 p.m., at Post 29, 921 Gresham Ave.

Thanksgiving morning, in waves

Twelve days later, the Square hosts a much bigger crowd on the same kind of schedule. MUST Ministries says more than 10,000 runners will come to the Square on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 26, for the 24th annual Gobble Jog, with almost 300 volunteers supporting them. Proceeds go toward food for the local community.

MUST's event page spreads the races over three hours:

That spacing shapes the morning for families, too. Your 10K runner will start about an hour before the 1K kids and three hours before the Tot Trot. So it helps to decide ahead of time whether everyone arrives together or the group splits into a dawn shift and a mid-morning shift. Neighbors who aren't running should know the Square stays busy with the race from 7:30 until the Tot Trot finishes, well after 10:30. MUST is the place to check for parking and street details before you head over.

Packet pickup is the day before, Wednesday, Nov. 25, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Cobb County Civic Center, 548 South Marietta Parkway. Registration is on RunSignup. The listed prices in late October were $50 for each timed race, $45 for the untimed 5K and 1K, $30 for the Tot Trot and $40 for the Phantom Runner option. Most of those went up after Oct. 31, so check the page for today's prices. The Phantom, or virtual, option still comes with a T-shirt, so someone who'll be busy with the turkey can still take part. The Marietta Daily Journal's coverage of the 23rd annual race carried the headline "Gobble Jog draws thousands, raises up to $700K for MUST Ministries."

The evenings between the two mornings

Outside those two mornings, November on the Square happens mostly at night, beginning with the month's first Friday. The Marietta Square Art Walk is Friday, Nov. 6, from 5 to 9 p.m. It's the free, self-guided First Friday stroll featuring local artists around the Square.

The same night, the Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theatre opens It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. The published run dates don't agree with each other, so check the Strand's box office for later performances. Holiday movies fill out the rest of the Strand's month:

• A Christmas Story, Tuesday, Nov. 17
• Home Alone, Tuesday, Nov. 24
• Elf, Wednesday, Nov. 25, the night before the Gobble Jog
• Departure: The Journey Tribute Band, Saturday, Nov. 28

Over at Theatre in the Square, Gift of the Magi 2.0 runs Nov. 20 to 22 and Nov. 27 to 29. Curtain is 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. on Sundays. That second weekend falls right after Thanksgiving, and the farmers market is back on Saturday, Nov. 28. For anyone hosting out-of-town family, that Saturday has a market in the morning and a show in the evening, all within walking distance.

When the morning ends at noon

Both big mornings end around lunchtime, and this year the Square has several new places to eat that weren't open last November.

Glover Park Kitchen is now open at 72 Atlanta Street. It comes from the group behind Glover Park Brewery across the street, and Executive Chef Lance Hagan runs a seasonal, Southern-inspired menu built around shared plates. West Park Sports Club opened April 20, 2026, at 29 West Park Square, the former Red Hare Brewing & Distilling space. It's an upscale sports bar from Fork U Concepts, the group behind Taqueria Tsunami and Stockyard Burgers and Bones. Willie Rae's x Pisano's reopened on the Square July 31, 2026, with a combined menu of Southern dishes, pizza and Italian food under one roof. For a quick weekday lunch on the Square, El Jalisco joined Marietta Square Market's food hall in August, and its $8.99 lunch special runs Monday through Friday.

One opening hasn't happened yet. Brasserie Genevieve, a French brasserie planned for 45 W. Park Square in the former Asher & Rose space, is expected to open sometime between late 2026 and early 2027. It probably won't be serving by the parade or Thanksgiving.

If you're planning November around the Square and also thinking ahead about a move in Marietta, I'd love to help with both. Whether you want to know which streets feel the Saturday crowds or how being close to Glover Park changes day-to-day life, I'm glad to talk it through before your next step. Schedule a consultation with Kimberly Eslinger, and we'll begin with a walk around the Square.