This is the view we've had of the Rose Parade for the last 30+ years. We crawl out of bed after a late night and cuddle under warm blankets drinking coffee and blinking sleepily at the floats going by. I always look for the Cal Poly float and admire it as it goes by, but this year, even after the little bit of decorating we did, I felt a whole new affinity with the university and their history of float making. As a follow up to the blog about decorating, this blog will tell you a little about the history of the parade and the experience of attending the parade itself.
First, a bit of history. I have to admit, prior to attending the parade I had little interest in understanding the background, but just like many of my blogs, when I experience something in person I am motivated to learn more, and share that here with you.
This time I had help from my son Ethan, who did some background research in his free time this weekend and summarized it for me. Here are some of the fun facts he uncovered, with the original site noted:
According to this site, the parade originally got started in the winter of 1890, when club members brainstormed ways to promote the “Mediterranean of the West.” They invited their former East Coast neighbors to a mid-winter holiday, where they could watch games such as chariot races, jousting, foot races, polo and tug-of-war under the warm California sun. The abundance of fresh flowers, even in the midst of winter, prompted the club to add another showcase for Pasadena’s charm: a parade to precede the competition, where entrants would decorate their carriages with hundreds of blooms
According to this site, the Rose Bowl college football game was added in 1902 to help fund the cost of staging the parade. It became a regular annual event in 1916.
I learned here that the parade has been continuing, uninterrupted, except during World War II in 1942, 1943, and 1945, and in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is held every New Year's Day, except when January 1 falls on a Sunday. In that case, it is held on the subsequent Monday, January 2.
Other questions you might have:
Q: How much does it cost to attend the parade?
A: It doesn't cost anything to find a spot to sit along the parade route and attend that way. Since many people do this, you need to arrive early (you're allowed to come as early as noon on New Year's Eve) and be prepared to spend the night. Rick bought my tickets in February last year, utilizing a ticket seller called "Sharp Seating". This is the only way to get grandstand seating where you are a bit elevated off the ground. While I don't know how much our seats cost, they are advertised as costing between $75-$125. Our actual seats were about 1/2 block before the Rose Parade's announcer podium, which is located at "TV Corner". What we learned is that many of the bands or other performers save their "act" for the TV cameras (understandably), so while we could get a sense of how good they were, it wasn't the same as sitting nearer to that corner.
Q: Where do you park when you attend the Rose Parade?
A: You can pay for parking from "Sharp Seating", or arrive early and try to find a public parking space. This is something we would do differently next time. We arrived before 6 a.m. because they said they closed Colorado Avenue at that time, and there were many cars streaming into the public parking garages. We were directed to a parking garage closer to the route, but the "stacked parking" they allowed meant that we couldn't leave when we wanted to.
Q: Who pays for the Rose Parade?
A: According to what I read, the Rose Bowl Football game helps fund the parade. With tickets costing between $235 and $3,630, that probably raises quite a bit of money! Since 2011 it is hosted by Honda, thus they get the first float in the parade. Those that enter the parade pay an entry fee as well.
Q: How much does it cost to enter the Rose Parade?
A: According to this article, costs can vary depending on the kind of materials needed, but according to the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, the average cost of a high-quality parade float is $275,000, most of which goes into design, materials, labor and importation costs. More sophisticated floats with animatronics or elaborate floral designs can cost more.
Additionally, each participating organization is required to pay an entry fee — $7,500 for non-commercial participants and $25,000 for commercial participants.
Q: Who builds the Rose Floats?
A: The floats are required to be built by construction crews that are approved by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses. Currently, Phoenix Decorating Company and Artistic Entertainment Services are the only organizations authorized to construct the floats.
Some organizations, however, are allowed to enter self-built floats. Cal Poly University, for example, enters a float constructed by engineering students every year. In addition to Cal, Poly, these "self-built" floats are entered by one of the following: City of Burbank, City of Downey, City of La Canada Flintridge, City of Sierra Madre, and City of South Pasadena. These floats are not built by float professionals (who even knew that was a thing?) but are the work of volunteers with school or civic pride. More information on these 6 floats from the 2024 parade can be found here.
OK, I'm sure you have more questions, but if so, you can google it yourself or leave a comment and I'll do another blog on the topic. I figure you're really here to learn about OUR experience at the parade, so here it is.
First of all, the experience of being there in person is WAY different than seeing it on TV. For instance, arriving at the crack of dawn meant we had to go to bed early and not even try to stay awake for New Year's Eve.
We woke up at 4:30 and left the hotel by 4:45 to account for traffic and get across Colorado Boulevard. We were staying in Burbank, about 20 minutes away, and didn't encounter traffic until we exited the freeway. At that point, we wound our way along, following all the other parade-goers. With the parking ticket they sent you a sticky bumper sticker thing that you put on your windshield, so they could tell at a glance that you had a parking permit.
After a bit we arrived at the parking garage, and parked facing out following the example of other people. We figured that would make it easier to exit when, theoretically, we're all trying to leave at the same time.
We had planned ahead and brought breakfast with us, so ate our yogurt and fruit in the car. I even planned ahead to NOT drink coffee, figuring it might be challenging to find a restroom once along the parade route.
We only had to walk a few blocks to the parade route. It sure was strange, to be on city streets in the pitch dark with so much activity happening. This is when I first noticed the "white suited" volunteers, who staff the entire parade. I would see them throughout the parade, directing traffic, escorting entries, etc. According to what I read, there are over 900 volunteers that help make this parade happen!
Once we were on the parade route, we walked down the street from "TV Corner" to find our seats. We missed it the first time, so ended up walking outside the immediate parade area (where they check your purse, etc.) so had to get rechecked. I found the restrooms, though! They are plentiful, and I made sure to use them before the parade started to beat the crowds. The nice thing about that walk was I got to see how people wait for the parade all night. Many were still snuggled in their sleeping bags, some were gathered around open fires (yes, they allow that in certain approved containers), people were eating breakfast, etc. I don't think I'll ever spend the night on the sidewalk, but it was clear some people make a tradition of it. There were a few people selling snacks and coffee, I heard one young woman advertising (by microphone) that they were selling coffee to raise money for their honeymoon. Pretty gutsy given it is NOT approved to sell food street-side. I expected there to be a lot of selling going on, like the experience at a ball game, but there was none of that. There were Rose Tournament representatives on the street selling seat cushions and programs, but that was it! No food, no "hawking" of wares. Best come prepared with your own food and drink, I guess.
Our seats were not very close to the street, but high enough up that we had a great view. The grandstand was protected by fencing, and that's where you had to show your tickets, so everything that's not a grandstand is "fair game" for seating. We were plenty early, so got to observe the people that lived across the street preparing their balcony seating, the motorcycle cop with his motorcycle decorated with roses, and all the other pre-parade activities.
At 7 a.m. sharp, they started lining up. The color guard and Marine Band went by, then a couple of floats, then the Fresno State Marching Band lined up behind them. We were treated to many iterations of the music on the float immediately in front of us, so that got kind of old. But then the band started warming up (good thing because those flag girls had bare arms!), so that provided plenty of entertainment for the remaining wait time.
Right at 8 a.m., the parade started. This video shows how we got our first clue that the "TV Corner" had much more entertainment than our seats. We could see something happening down there but weren't close enough to tell what it was.
One of the things you don't get from watching this on TV is the involvement of the crowd. People cheered and ooh'd and ahh'd through-out the event. In the past, I remember that planes would fly overhead dragging banners with advertising or messages. Now, I guess that's done with drones. This drone started spelling at 8 sharp.
It was the crowd that told me something interesting was happening here, because I didn't see it until it was directly overhead. But people started cheering in the seconds before we saw it.
The actual parade was thrilling. It was awesome to see the bands up close, to appreciate the floral displays (now that I know more about the work involved!), and to cheer on the military and the horseback riders. I cannot do it justice here, but here is a gallery of photos and a few videos. I will do a more thorough job showing the floats in the next blog, which will cover Float Fest the next day.
One of the things I noticed is that some of the bands weren't just marching, they were PERFORMING! I know how hard it is to march, stay in a straight line, and play an instrument at the same time from my days in the high school marching band. I can't imagine turning a corner or doing some of the acrobatic moves these bands did. In addition to the short video, I went and found a you-tube performance of the bands I was particularly impressed with in case you want to see more.
Here's an example of a float going by, complete with music and all the florals. You can see the audience interaction and feel the excitement in the air.
Here is the Jackson State Marching Band "Sonic Boom of the South". Man, those kids worked hard to be able to perform like this! My little snippet of their performance is here, but after re-watching it I did some research on you-tube to find the best performance. The one in the link above is taken near the judging stands. The choreography is magnificent, even to the "waving of the shaker tassles" as they march away at the end.
This one was also impressive, especially given these kids are in high school, and had traveled all the way from Kyoto! As usual, when I do more research I find even more interesting facts. For instance, this used to be an all girls band up until the year 2000, and this is their third appearance at the Rose Parade. They performed at over 100 events this year. Those are busy students!!! If you want to read more, here is a fact sheet I found. This site also gives many more details. In addition to my video, here is a you-tube performance if you want to see more. I love how they choreograph time for the band members to wave at the audience!
Here is more of a classic marching band experience, but even these kids have some moves.
I read up on the criteria for marching bands to be chosen for the parade and when I google it my AI friends tell me this:
So I guess the requirement for "entertainment value" and "field show maneuvers" lead to the performances such as the ones we saw. Amazing talent!
OK, the moment you've all been waiting for, the Cal Poly Float!!! It was near the end of the parade, right after the Trader Joe's float which was the longest in the parade. Luckily, Katelyn turned on the TV just as that float was going by, so we could tell her that Cal Poly was NEXT!
Since we hadn't been able to stay long enough to see if they were using my ferns on the float, we were anxiously examining the back of the float as it went by. YES! They were using my plants!
OK, that's about all the excitement I can handle for today. If you want to see more float detail, I will be covering Float Fest next.
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