Pasadena's Tournament of Roses parade is a magical event that attracts families and Rose Bowl float admirers from all over the nation to visit the Pacific coast during the New Year's holiday season. The Los Angeles area is one of the best places to visit during the winter months and there are numerous Rose Bowl related events taking place to be a part of while you are in town! If you plan on heading west for the Rose Parade to ring in the New Year, here is some useful information to make the "Just Imagine..." themed Rose Bowl Parade an event to remember.
Grand Marshal
Every year the Tournament of Roses President awards one person (or sometimes a group of people) the high honor of being the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade. There have been presidents, actors, senators, generals, and even cartoon characters that have held the high honor of Grand Marshal. Past Grand Marshals include Dwight D. Eisenhower, Walt Disney, the Apollo 12 Astronauts, Mickey Mouse, and Shirley Temple! The 2012 Grand Marshall will be chosen in October and this year Rose Parade enthusiast have started using social media to herald their candidate of choice; check out the Facebook page "Betty White For Grand Marshall Of The 2012 Rose Parade."
Rose Bowl Floats
In the late 1800s when the Rose Bowl Parade began, carriages and horses were covered in roses by volunteers; now, the vast majority of floats are created by professional float building companies. The cost of individual Rose Parade floats vary from $50,000 to half a million dollars and many of the more elaborate floats take an entire year to construct due to the complexity of their mechanics. The Rose Bowl does have a very important rule for all floats created for the parade: the entire surface of the float must be covered in natural materials such as flowers, seeds and vegetation. Not even colored dye can be used on the live flowers! Seeing the floats in person is a truly amazing experience especially once you see the details of individually placed seeds, blossoms, barks and nuts that cover the complete surface area of these living floats.
Float Viewing and Rose Bowl Packages
There are exclusive Rose parade tours offered by a long standing Rose Bowl tour operator that can take participants to the Rose Parade Pavilion before the event. This gives special attendees an exclusive before the parade look at the making of floats during the last days and hours before the parade! What a great experience to see the making of these gorgeous living parade floats in person. After the parade the floats are put on display near Victory Park at the end of the parade route. It gives Rose Bowl attendees a great chance to inspect the Rose Bowl Parades up close and personal.
Rose Parade Float Awards
Every year the Rose Parade has judges that are accomplished in the field of floral design. These judges have proven to be the best master florist in the industry. For example, in 2011 Nancy Clarke was one of the three primary judges and her resume includes 30 years of being a master florist at the White House creating exquisite arrangements for US Presidents and First Ladies. For 2012, parade onlookers will also get to vote via text message for their favorite floats! Rose Parade Float Awards include a Viewer's Choice Award so make sure to text or visit the website to vote for your favorite!
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Celebrate the New Year in Pasadena and see the gorgeous blossoms at the Tournament of Roses. Rose Parade tour packages include tours of LA, tours of the California Coast, trips to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon, even a Rose Parade Tour and Mexican Riviera Cruise !
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