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Rose Parade: some pay for seats in stands, others spend the night to "reserve" a free spot]] The Tournament of Roses Parade was established in 1890 and is held on New Year's Day in Pasadena, California , eight miles (13 km) north-east of Downtown Los Angeles -except if January 1 falls on a Sunday, in which case the parade occurs on January 2 . It is arguably the most popular annual Parade in the United States . A pact was made with the local churches located along the boulevard that when New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the Tournament holds the parade on Monday the 2nd. This convention allows for religious observance, but was originally instituted because the Parade's many equine participants would not tolerate the pealing of the church bells along the route. The Tournament of Roses Association Web site has an alternate equine explanation. It says the "Never on Sunday" policy was instituted in 1893 "to avoid frightening horses tethered outside local churches and thus interfering with worship services." Suffice it to say that the Parade has never been held on a Sunday. Rooted in tradition, this parade is broadcast on multiple Television Network s, watched by upwards of one million spectators on the parade route, and seen by millions more on television. Starting January 1, 1923, it is traditionally followed by the Tournament's other event, the Rose Bowl College Football game. If, however, it is the Bowl Championship Series (BCS)' national championship game, as it was in 2006, the "Granddaddy of 'em all" as it has become known, might not always be played on New Years Day. game for 2006 was played on January ''4th''. Not all fans are pleased with the change from The Rose Bowl playing on the same day as the parade. Some of the 'atmosphere' and tradition is lost in the change. Since 1955, the parade has been famously lucky and avoided being rained on with several close calls. For the 2006 Tournament of Roses parade on January 2 , winds with gusts up to 45 Mph (72 Km/h ) and five Inch es (130 Mm ) of rain in the Pasadena area were predicted. The forecast proved accurate; despite the parade's good luck for 51 years, it rained continuously and heavily throughout the entire 2006 parade. Some floats showed signs of water damage by the end. HISTORY First staged in 1890 by members of Pasadena's Valley Hunt Club , the Tournament of Roses has undergone major changes. 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." And so the Club decided to organize their first New Year's Day parade. Horse-drawn carriages covered in flowers, followed by foot races, polo matches, and a game of tug-of-war on the town lot attracted a crowd of 2000 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 Tournament Of Roses Association was formed. By the eleventh annual Tournament ( 1900 ), the town lot on which the activities were held was re-named Tournament Park , a large open area that is directly adjacent 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. PARADE The Tournament of Roses Parade has followed the same route for many decades. It starts by going north on South Orange Grove Boulevard , beginning at Ellis Street. hours ahead of time, the entire environs of the neighborhood streets are sealed off and reserved for the massive parade marshalling of the dozens of floats that are participating! On parade morning, it proceeds east on Colorado Boulevard (Pasadena's main thoroughfare and a segment of the former US-66), to Sierra Madre Boulevard. Turning north on Sierra Madre, it ends at Paloma Street. On going North, the floats must travel under the Sierra Madre / I-210 freeway overpass, requiring them to collapse to meet a specific height requirement. In total, this route is 5½ miles (9 km) long; the assembled bands, horse units, and floats take approximately 2 1/2 hours to pass by. After the parade, all the floats are 'parked' in a large open area known as Victory Park, and are on display for at least 2 days to allow visitors to view them 'up close and personal' after parade day. Of course, 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. Prior to parade day, for the really adventurous, one can view several of the floats being decked out with their 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. This period of opportunity typically starts about 48 to 72 hours prior to parade day. If you are willing to volunteer, you just might find a crew willing to hand you a box of flowers and put you right to work! According to rules established by the tournament founders, if New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the parade occurs Monday the 2nd. This was established so as to not spook parishioners' horses tethered next to churches lining the parade route. Such was the case for 2006; however, the only horses at this time were in the parade. Perhaps, the most bittersweet year for the parade was 2005 . Parade organizers were in shock after the Tsunami Disaster In Southeast Asia less than a week earlier. However, the parade went on, but the disaster was in people's minds. BANDS The bands participating in the parade have also developed traditions. For example, Pasadena City College's Lancer Marching Band always marches in the Rose Parade, along with high school band and color guard students from all over southern California, who are selected by audition in autumn. The Tournament of Roses Honor Band is a coveted position, and those selected are among the best student musicians in California. Nine of the high school trumpet players, selected by performance on their auditions, and the best snare drummer, are selected as the Herald Trumpets, who march directly before the Rose Queen's float and play fanfares. Also, the Tournament sponsors Bandfest, where some of the selected bands perform field shows at the City College Stadium over two days. THEMES The newly elected President of the Tournament of Roses has the duty of picking a theme for the forthcoming festivities. Most of the floral floats in the parade are inspired by this theme. List of Tournament of Roses Parade themes Tournament of Roses Past Themes
Grand Marshal The 2006 Grand Marshal is Justice Sandra Day O'Connor Repeat Marshals of the Tournament of Roses Parade
Queen and Royal Court Each year, a selection process is held in early October to find out which Pasadena-area girls (ages 17 to 21) will have the honor of being crowned Queen of the Tournament, or in substitution, one of the members of her "Royal Court". Each year over 1000 girls try out. Six princesses and one queen are chosen. The winners then ride on a float in the parade, and carry out duties in promotion of the Tournament, mainly during its duration and prelude. Their duties include attending over one hundred events in the Pasadena area. They usually receive scholarship money and a 30 piece wardrobe; the 2005 Court also received a Mikimoto pearl necklace. During the time that they attend Tournament events, usually from October to January, the each girl usually attends school a few times a week for only a few hours at a time. Floats Originally, floats were created solely by volunteers from sponsoring communities. Currently, most are built by professional float building companies, and take nearly a year to construct. This is not the be-all-and-end-all of the Tournament, as some communities and organizational sponsors still rely on volunteers. Being one of the world's most noted parades, all floats and bands are honored with individual lapel pins. {Link without Title} Modern-day process Shortly after each year's parade is over, the parade sponsors and participating communities start to plan their floats for the following year. Characters and other objects on the float are created separately as pods, consisting of a framework of steel and chicken wire. The pod is then "cocooned" in the next process; it is sprayed with a Polyvinyl material. This pod is painted with the colors of the flowers to be applied to the float. Every square inch of the exposed surface of a float entered in the Rose Parade strictly must be covered with flowers or other natural materials. These other decorative applicants include bark, seed and leaves. The float pods are then put on the mechanical Chassis of the float. Along with drive train, the chassis regularly include computer-controlled robotic mechanisms, to animate the floats. In the days following Christmas, these natural additions to the float are applied by volunteers. Many volunteers end each day covered in glue and petals. Delicate flowers are even set up in individual vials of water, set into the float one-by-one. Quantity of flowers While many distinct changes have taken place with the Festival's floats, including computer-aided movement and professional float building, the floats have kept true to the event's title and heritage, by using real, fresh flowers. The sheer amount of flowers required by a single float in its decoration is more than the average American florist will use in five years of operation. Notable recent floats
Attendance More recent attendance figure are followed by the predicted attendances in parenthesis. Most predictions are conducted by The Tournament of Roses and the Pasadena Police Department. Actual figures are by the Anderson School Of Management at UCLA .
Post-parade: A Showcase of Floats Presented by the Eastman Kodak Company with supporting sponsor Bayer Advanced , the Showcase is a paid admission area where the floats are displayed after the parade, for close-up viewing. The Parade Float s are parked along Sierra Madre and Washington Boulevards in Pasadena for three hours after the parade. On the day after the parade, there are two hours reserved for seniors and the disabled, and a day's worth for the general public. TOURNAMENT OF ROSES ASSOCIATION List of presidents of the Tournament of Roses Association
VOLUNTEERS The Tournament of Roses has become such a large event that it requires 65,000 hours of combined manpower each year, or the equivalent of roughly 7.42 years of combined man power. Fortunately for the Association, the group has 935 members and 38 student ambassadors, each whom is assigned to one of 34 committees. Responsibilities include:
During the Parade, all volunteers are required to wear distinct white suits. Because of this, the volunteers are commonly referred to as "white suiters". EXTERNAL LINKS |