The Tournament of Roses Parade , better known as the Rose Parade , is the "America's New Year Celebration" , a festival of flowers, music and equestrians and a college football game on New Year's Day, produced by the non-profit Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association.
The annual parade was first held January 1, 1890 in Pasadena, California. Today, the Rose Parade is watched in person by hundreds of thousands of spectators on the parade route, and is broadcast on multiple television networks in the United States. It is seen by millions more on television worldwide in more than 200 international territories and countries. The Rose Bowl college football game was added in 1902 to help fund the cost of staging the parade.
History
Members of Pasadena's Valley Hunt Club first staged the parade in 1890. Since then the parade has been held in Pasadena every New Year's Day, except when Jan. 1 falls on a Sunday. In that case, it is held on the subsequent Monday, Jan. 2. This exception was instituted in 1893. According to the Tournament of Roses Association Web site, this "Never on Sunday" policy was instituted in order "to avoid frightening horses tethered outside local churches and thus interfering with worship services." Thus, the parade has never been held on a Sunday. Incidentally, the Rose Bowl Game is also not held on Sunday to avoid competing with the NFL. Other bowl games usually held on Jan. 1 also follow this rule.
Many of the members of the Valley Hunt Club were former residents of the American East and Midwest. They wished to showcase their new California home's mild winter weather. At a club meeting, Professor Charles F. Holder announced, "In New York, people are buried in the snow. Here our flowers are blooming and our oranges are about to bear. Let's hold a festival to tell the world about our paradise."
So the club organized horse-drawn carriages covered in flowers, followed by foot races, polo matches and a game of tug-of-war on the town lot that attracted a crowd of 2,000 to the event. Upon seeing the scores of flowers on display, the professor decided to suggest the name "Tournament of Roses."
Over the next few founding years, marching bands and motorized floats were added. By 1895, the event was too large for the Valley Hunt Club to handle, hence the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association was formed. By the 11th annual tournament (1900), the town lot on which the activities were held was re-named Tournament Park, a large open area directly adjacent to Pasadena's world-famous institution of higher learning, Caltech. Activities soon included ostrich races, bronco busting demonstrations and an odd novelty race between a camel and an elephant. (The elephant won the race.) Soon, reviewing stands were built along the parade route and newspapers in Eastern Seaboard cities started to take notice of the event.
Main article: Presidents of the Tournament of Roses AssociationTournament House is the name given the building where the organization is headquartered. The Tournament House, a stately Italian Renaissance-style mansion, was once owned by William Wrigley Jr., the chewing gum magnate.
The first associated football game was played on Jan. 1, 1902. Originally titled the "Tournament East-West football game," it is considered to be the first Rose Bowl. The next game was not played until New Year's Day 1916, but they have been played annually since then. The game derives its modern name from Rose Bowl Stadium, which was built for the 1923 game.
In 2002 and 2006, when the Rose Bowl Game was the BCS National Championship Game, the "Granddaddy of 'em all" was not held the same day as the parade; the 2006 game was played on Jan. 4. Not all fans were pleased with the change; some thought the atmosphere and tradition of the Rose Bowl were lost. However, since the BCS title game is now separate from the host bowl, it will no longer affect the date of the Rose Bowl Game, even when the title game returns to Pasadena in 2010.
Parade
The Tournament of Roses Parade has followed the same route on Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena's main thoroughfare and a segment of the former US 66, for many decades. The day before the parade, the entire environs of the neighborhood streets are sealed off and reserved for the massive parade marshalling of the dozens of floats, bands, equestrian units and other elements. This staging area is referred to as the "formation area" and managed by the formation area committee.
On parade morning, the various elements are merged and dispatched in front of Tournament House. It starts by going north on South Orange Grove Boulevard, beginning at Ellis Street. At Colorado Boulevard it passes the grandstands, and the main television and media stands, and proceeds east on Colorado Boulevard. The parade then turns north on Sierra Madre Boulevard. The floats then must travel under the Sierra Madre Boulevard/I-210 freeway overpass, requiring the over-height floats to collapse to prevent crashing into the overpass. The parade ends at the "post parade" area when it crosses Paloma Street, by Victory Park and Pasadena High School.
In total, this route is 5½ miles (9 km) long; the assembled bands, horse units, and floats take approximately 2.5 hours to pass by.
Floats
Main article: Tournament of Roses floatsOriginally flower decorated horse carriages were entered in the parade. Floats, built by volunteers from sponsoring communities, supplanted most of the carriages over time. Currently, most are built by professional float building companies, and take nearly a year to construct. Some communities and organizational sponsors still rely on volunteers. The Valley Hunt Club still enters a flower decorated carriage. The Cal Poly Universities Rose Float still relies solely on students who volunteer.
Typically 48 to 72 hours prior to parade day one can view several of the floats being decorated with flowery mantles, in the various 'float barns' that dot the Arroyo Seco / Rose Bowl area in West Pasadena, not far from the start of the parade. It is a rule of the parade that all surfaces of the float framework be covered in natural material (such as flowers, plants, seaweeds, seeds, bark, vegetables, or nuts, for example); furthermore, no artificial flowers or plant material are allowed, nor can the materials be artificially colored. Last-minute volunteering opportunities are usually available.
Anaheim city's float at the 2008 Rose Bowl Parade included the Stanley Cup that the NHL's Anaheim Ducks had won last season, hoisted by player Brad May. (As the regulations state that the outside of the float must exclusively use organic material, ABC commentators speculated that the city got an exception to display the Cup.)
The 2009 parade featured 46 floats, including some new entries, such as Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau's Celebrating Alaska – Spirit of the Wild , Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Pet Foods, Inc.'s Natural Entertainers , Jack in the Box's Jack-O-Licious , City of Mission Viejo's Making a Splash , RFD-TV's Hee Haw , City of Roseville's Entertaining Dreams for a Century , Vera Bradley's Hope Grows and the National Association of Realtors' Celebrating the Dream of Home Ownership for 100 Years .
Joining the 2010 parade will include Boy Scouts of America, Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles, New Mexico Tourism Department, Phoenix Satellite Television (U.S.) Inc., Roundtable of Southern California/Shanghai World Expo., and Safety Harbor Kids.
After the parade, all the floats are 'parked' at the end of the parade route on Sierra Madre Blvd. and Washington Blvd., by Victory Park, and are on display for at least one and half days after the parade. None of the float riders and dignitaries / stars who rode on them are present. Admittance to the viewing used to be free, but a fee has been instituted in recent years.
Equestrians
Since the beginning, horses have played a part in the Rose Parade. Thousands of riders have made the trek down Colorado Boulevard. "The Tournament equestrian family grows bigger and stronger every year as it welcomes the new equestrians who come to share the magic of New Year's Day and appreciate the commitment to excellence and professionalism exhibited by the returning equestrian units to the parade," according to the Tournament of Roses.
Prior to the parade, an "Equestfest" is held at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center to showcase the performances by the amazing and talented riding teams. Equestrian units taking part in "Equestfest" have included First Cavalry Division U.S. Army Fort Hood, Clydesdales, "Traveler"-US
MORNING GLORY COLLECTS Haskell
HASKELL artificial pearls two-row 14" necklace and 1" earrings with pink and clear rhinestones, rose ... and clear rose montees in a flower ... and rose montee necklace with ...
GT Decorations - 176cm Wedding Artificial Silk Flower Rose Hydrangea ...
176cm Wedding Artificial Silk Flower Rose Hydrangea Garland (#21032123) ... or, depending on the design, even for wearing as a crown or garland necklace.
Yaodapeng Private Enterprise - Sunglasses, fashion jewelry, artificial ...
Ribbon flower TGIMG5938(silk flower,rose,plastic flower,paper ... Sunglasses,fashion jewelry,artificial flowers and plants ... Fashion Necklace [104] ribbon silk flower [64] Printed ...
NY J84363 - The tariff classification of artificial flower from China ...
The artificial rose flower is glued onto the front of the nylon ribbon necklace. This article is designed to be worn around the neck with the flower in the front and the ribbon ...
Artificial Flowers, Artificial Flowers Manufacturers & Suppliers
artificial flower , foam rose, hand made flower,We make all kinds of materials artificial flowers such as foam,PE, silk etc. wit...
NY G85159 - The tariff classification of artificial flowers, hair ...
The blue rose is composed of man-made fiber woven fabric. The artificial flower is attached to a ¾ inch wide textile ribbon. This product is worn as a necklace or choker.
Necklace and Earring Set : Silk and Artificial Wedding Flowers by C&L ...
Necklace and Earring Set; Gifts; Buttonholes. Buttonhole Sets ... artificial wedding flowers; blue; bouquet; bridal; bridal bouquet ... rose; roses; silk; silk wedding buttonhole; silk wedding ...
Artificial Plants & Flowers - Artificial Plants & Flowers and more
High quality artificial flower, hand crochet flower Lily, Rose, Tulip, Carnation, Sunflower etc. Customized ... Fashion Trends in Necklace MP3 Player
Amethyst Necklace - Crystals/Jades
Artificial Flowers: Add on Products: Add-on Balloon ... Strong and deep, this amethyst necklace is bound to make ... More Options on Crystals/Jades » Rose Quartz Bracelet
GT Decorations - Artificial Flower Velvet Rose & Bud Berries Mixed ...
Artificial Flower Velvet Rose & Bud Berries Mixed Garland (#21022053) ... or, depending on the design, even for wearing as a crown or garland necklace.