by Dot Cannon

Pasadena’s 131st Tournament of Roses® Parade brought in 2020 with lots of smiles, cheers and showmanship.

During the first sunrise of the new decade, on Wednesday morning, January 1, paradegoers gathered at the corner of Colorado and Orange Grove.

The Goodyear Blimp floated overhead, with a New Year message.

And as the clock moved to 8:00, everyone was ready–literally–to get the show on the road.

“5-4-3-2-1!” the crowd counted down.  And the opening spectacular, “Reach for the Stars”, kicked off the parade.

Musicians Farruko and Ally Brooke performed the uptempo song, written by Grammy-winning musician Emilio Estefan especially for the Tournament of Roses®.  The waiting Pasadena police flashed their lights in time to the music.

And then…

A massive ROAR sounded overhead.  Whoops and applause went up from the spectators.

The U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit sailed majestically over the parade route.

The 131st Rose Parade, themed “The Power of Hope”, was under way.

The 2020 parade

As mentioned in our previous post, the lead float, American Honda’s “Our Hope For the Future”, was its final “deco” stage on Sunday.

This is how it looked, on the parade route.

Among the dreams depicted for which the children are reaching: a future career as an artist, a doctor, a scuba diver, a musician–and, of course, an astronaut, reaching for the stars!

Next came the only remaining Mounted Color Guard within the Marine Corps today: the United States Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard.

Their mounts are wild palomino mustangs.  These are from the Bureau of Land Management’s “Adopt a Horse” program.

Among the topnotch performances during the parade, no band ever looks sharper, or sounds better, than the United States Marine Corps West Coast Composite Band.

Playing “The Marines’ Hymn”, they marched smartly into 2020.

The Rose Parade® is the only time the three performing groups of which they’re comprised play together!  During the rest of the year, the members are the Marine Band San Diego, the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Band and the 1st Marine Division band.

As always, written coverage can’t do justice to the pageantry and tradition of “America’s New Year Celebration®”.

Showmanship, imagination and sheer beauty are always spotlighted in the equestrian units, band performances, and of course, the floats.

Like “Rise Up”, for example, from self-built Burbank Tournament of Roses Association.

Inspired by the communities that emerged from the 2018 California wildfires, it won the “Leishman Public Spirit” Float Award for “Most Outstanding Floral Presentation From a Non-Commercial Participant”.

And, here are just a few of the highlights from the first half of the 2020 Rose Parade, themed “The Power of Hope”.

Imagination and majesty

During “Decorating Places”, we’d had the opportunity to see Cal Poly Universities’ 72nd float, “Aquatic Aspirations”, in its final deco stages.

Now, here it came, following the banner for the 2020 Directors Float Award it won!

(Cal Poly Universities, with the only student-built float in the Rose Parade®, have continuously participated in the parade since 1949.  Over those 71 years, they’ve won numerous float awards.)

The “Directors” Award is for “Most Outstanding Artistic Design and Use of  Floral and Non-floral Materials”.

And a fun fact: the numbers on the submarine, “CPRF-72”, stand for “Cal Poly Rose Float, number 72″!”

Such beautiful animals!  This is the Arabian Horse Association.

This group was created specifically for the 2020 Rose Parade®, according to Tournament of Roses®’ media guide.  Their Arabians and half Arabians are part of the Leukemia Lymphoma Society Warrior Horses for Warrior Kids program.

And how majestic did the General Society of Mayflower Descendants’ float,  “The Voyage of Hope – 1620” look?  Both in its “deco” stage, on Sunday, December 29th…

…and in its parade appearance?

This Fiesta Parade Floats creation won the 2020 “Americana” award for “Most Outstanding Depiction of National Treasures and Traditions”.

Music, dignitaries–and a surprise

Up next came the Rancho Verde Crimson Regiment next, in their first Rose Parade® appearance.

Playing an uptempo march, the musicians, who are the largest competitive field band in Riverside and San Bernardino County, showcased the style that has made them five-time World Band Association Championship finalists…

…and so did their flag carriers.

“Rita!  Rita!” called spectators, a few minutes later, as the Grand Marshals’ vehicles made their appearance.

The first of the three 2020 Grand Marshals, multiple award-winning actress Rita Moreno, smiled and waved as she rode by in a 1910 Pope Hartford Model T.

Her fellow Grand Marshals, actress Gina Torres (also a multiple award-winner) and Olympic Gold and Silver medal-winning gymnast Laurie Hernandez, followed in their own vintage cars.

Now, in the best possible way, something unexpected was about to happen.

A roll of drums announced the arrival of the Japan Honor Green Band.

This is a composite band, with members selected from schools throughout Japan.  This year’s Honor Green Band came from Sakyo-ku, Kyoto.

With a standing invitation from the Tournament of Roses® to participate in the parade every year, their director always likes to start their performance with a surprise.

Green Bands we’ve covered in the past, when turning the corner of Colorado and Orange Grove, have run, spun, hopped, or even marched backwards.

What would the 2020 Honor Green Band do?

‘Bye, Green Band!  They took the corner at a trot, as they played.  But that wasn’t the surprise–just a start.

Once around the corner, they did a full dance routine, including back kicks.  With a new selection, they did another routine, with sections of the band doing a full turn!

And for the 2020 Rose Parade®, themed “The Power of Hope”, much, much more was coming.

 

This is Part One of a four-part series.