by Dot Cannon
Sunrise seemed like a “pre-show” event.
So did the thousands of laughing people, braving this morning’s thirty-three-degree Pasadena temperatures.
Just before 8:00, Pasadena police alerted the crowds that the 126th Tournament of Roses® Parade was about to begin, at Colorado and Orange Grove Boulevards.
The theme banner float began to move…
Then stopped, just past the Colorado Boulevard turn, for this flyover by the B-2 Spirit.
And then–showtime!
Tournament of Roses® President Rich Chinen introduced the opening show, which featured professional dancers and gymnasts, as well as students from Arcadia, Glendale and El Dorado High Schools.
This year’s Rose Parade® was divided into five “chapters” of “Inspiring Stories”.
Doing justice to all the parade entries would be impossible–but here are a few of the highlights.
During Chapter One, “Courage and Honor”, the United States Marine Corps West Coast Composite Band marched proudly by, playing the “Marines’ Hymn”.
The City of Alhambra float, themed “Go For Broke”, paid tribute to the Japanese American soldiers who served during World War II. (Phoenix Decorating Company built this one.)
And the late Louis Zamperini, Grand Marshal of the 2015 Rose Parade®, was honored with the “Riderless Horse”, preceding the car in which his family was riding.
Another highlight of this “Chapter One” was a sobering one.
Many of the audience members fell completely silent at the appearance of the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs float, themed “Always Remember” and built by Phoenix Decorating Company. The float, depicting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, went by to the accompaniment of “Taps”, and reminded parade goers of the cost of freedom.
As Chapter Two, “Heritage and Vision” began, the Hawaii Pa’u Riders displayed the aloha spirit and equestrian style that is part of their heritage.
Appropriately, the next entry was the Dole float, themed “Rhythms of Hawaii”, by Fiesta Parade Floats. This entry won the Rose Parade®’s top prize: the Sweepstakes Award–marking the twenty-second year in a row that Fiesta has won this particular honor.
Other Chapter Two floats included this spectacular Singpoli one, “A Bright Future”, created by Paradiso Parade Floats. It depicted the legend of the firebird, rising from the ashes.
Also capturing the spectators’ imagination in this particular segment was the Koriyama Honor Green Band. They took the turn at Colorado and Orange Grove at a run, as they played the “Hawaii Five-O” theme!
Los Hermanos Banuelos Charro Riding Team, back for their seventh year in the Rose Parade®, managed to make their intricate rope tricks look as simple as picking up a cup of coffee.
Among the equestrian units, this little miniature horse, accompanying the Victorian Roses Ladies Riding Society, drew some “awwww”‘s.
2015 was the American Armenian Rose Float Association’s first year in the parade. Their “Cradle of Civilization” float, which Phoenix Decorating Company built, incorporated various symbols of Armenian culture.
Chapter Three, “Community Spirit and Relationships”, started off with a familiar vessel, ridden by the cast of the hit 1970s TV series, “The Love Boat”.
Fiesta Parade Floats created this float, which celebrated Princess Cruise Lines’ fifty-year anniversary.
The float’s loudspeakers played the theme from “The Love Boat”–inspiring plenty of people to sing along!
Immediately afterwards, came the Pasadena City College Herald Trumpeters–which could mean only one thing:
The 97th Rose Queen®, Madison Triplett, had arrived, with her court.
Not far behind the Royal Court came Mayor Bill Bogaard, the only Pasadena mayor to be elected for four terms, with Pasadena First Lady Claire Bogaard and their children and grandchildren.
A Rose Parade® tradition followed. Pasadena City College’s Honor Band–the official band of the Tournament of Roses®–was on hand for its eighty-sixth consecutive march in the parade.
Shortly thereafter, the first float by a “self-built”, or all-volunteer noncommercial float builder, made its appearance.
The Downey Tournament of Roses Association won the 2015 National Award for their float, themed “Home for the Holidays”, which depicted soldiers returning home on leave during the 1940s–and included an ice rink!
And, of course, with the 101st Rose Bowl just a matter of hours away, the two contenders’ bands were looking (and sounding) amazing!
Artistic Entertainment Services built the floats for the two Rose Bowl teams.
And these Florida State cheerleaders put on a great show–but may well have wished they’d had some warning about the weather. The temperature was in the thirties, throughout the entire parade!
For Chapter Four, “Perseverance and Hope”, the Salvation Army Band made its ninety-fifth appearance in the Rose Parade®. And they were commemorating another special anniversary, as well!
The South Pasadena Tournament of Roses float featured the Los Angeles Pink Dragons–a multiple medal-winning dragon boat team who are also breast cancer survivors.
(South Pasadena Tournament of Roses is the oldest “self-built”, or all-volunteer organization, to enter a float in the Rose Parade®. According to their website, their first entry was in 1910!)
In the same “chapter”, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s float, created by Fiesta Parade Floats, offered a tribute to courage.
These float riders are the brothers and sisters of Dr. Sheik Humarr Khan–who died of Ebola in Sierra Leone in July, 2014. They’re also doctors and RNs.
A great use of imagination–which inspired lots of laughter from the audience–was this Zappos.com float. Built by Paradiso Parade Floats, it won the 2015 Animation Award.
The pink hippo came with a surprise!
.But, perhaps the most inspiring story of today’s Rose Parade®, unfolded at the conclusion of Chapter Five.
The parade’s closing show, honoring Armed Forces members, featured a special surprise announcement.
A longtime service member and his family were presented with–the key to their new house!
Happy New Year, Tournament of Roses®, and thank you for the continuing inspiration! Can’t wait to see the other ways you’ll inspire the community in 2015.