The Tournament of Roses Parade in 1903
Horse-drawn carriage covered in pampas grass
You'd have to live in Southern California to understand what a mega event this parade used to be. It ranked right up there with the annual Hollywood Oscars ceremony.
I've seen the parade live several times, worked as a volunteer putting flowers on the floats (never again...) and - one New Year's Day morning, in the throes of a nasty hangover - I took a wrong turn off the freeway and accidentally wound up in Pasadena just when the parade was about to start. I still get nightmares remembering the traffic congestion and chaos.
When I was a kid, the Tournament of Roses Parade mostly consisted of floats filled with massive flowers and babes in swim suits - - and high school marching bands.
Nowadays, the buxom babes are scarce, the floats are much more creative and intricately crafted - - and there are still endless processions of high school marching bands.
By the way - the floats are all decorated with real flowers, plants, spices, and things such as beans, bark, and seeds.
Truth to tell, I was never particularly fond of parades, but I watched the Rose Parade Monday morning on KTLA live-stream - and a rush of California memories overtook me.
Tournament of Roses Parade in 1917
A few floats from the 2017 parade
"Real California Milk"
the California Milk Advisory Board
"Prosperity in the Wild"
sponsored by the Western Asset Management Company
The Surfing Dogs Float
Sponsored by the Lucy Pet Foundation
is the longest, heaviest float in parade history.
126 feet long, with an 8,000 gallon tank of water, a total weight of 74 tons. And eight surfing dogs.
Truthfully, I don't know how the driver of the float ever made that perilous turn - - since he can't see where he's navigating. He has to rely solely on computer technology and the guidance of "spotters" stationed on the float.
Truthfully, I don't know how the driver of the float ever made that perilous turn - - since he can't see where he's navigating. He has to rely solely on computer technology and the guidance of "spotters" stationed on the float.
sponsored by Ragu
One of my personal favorite floats, sponsored by the city of Sierra Madre. I liked the revolving stack of tea cups. But I can't figure out why there are two Alice in Wonderlands on the float.
This post was never intended to be solely about the Rose Parade. I got completely side-tracked.
I had planned on writing about my memories of winter in Southern California. Since this post is already annoyingly long, I'll save my initial intentions until next time.
I'm sure you'll be waiting with breathless anticipation.....
BTW -
The Blogger Gremlins have been screwing up my attempts to center these photos properly and put the captions underneath them. Blame Blogger for any errors that you see.
