2012: Just Imagine
The 2012 Tournament of Roses Parade kicked off at 8AM Pacific Time on Monday, January 2nd. Traditionally, the parade normally runs on New Year’s Day. However, in years when New Year’s is on a Sunday, the parade runs on Monday instead.
This year’s theme was “Just Imagine” and was the 123rd parade followed by the famous Rose Bowl college football game in its 98th year.
The Rose Parade’s Grand Marshall this year was J.R. Martinez, decorated Iraq war veteran, motivational speaker, actor, and a “Dancing with the Stars” contestant in 2011.
An unusual group calling themselves “Occupy the Rose Parade” formed a human float as a way to further expand the message of the Occupy Wall Street movement protestors. Protestors marched the parade route peacefully after the official parade had concluded. However, the broadcast of the parade concluded before the protestors started so TV viewers may never have seen it.
But, millions of fans around the world watched the broadcast in over 200 countries. In the United States, the parade was broadcast both live and in repeats on several networks including ABC, NBC, HGTV, Hallmark Channel, RFD-TV, Travel Channel, and locally in Southern California on KTLA. Spanish fans can see the parade on Univision.
History
Recent parades:
In 2011, the 122nd Rose Parade's Grand Marshal was Paula Deen, author and Food Network star. The theme for the parade was "Building Dreams, Friendships, and Memories." Temps were in the low 60’s F. A rainy Holiday season in Southern California cleared out just in time for the parade. An estimated 700,000 people camped out overnight on sidewalks to be in position to watch the parade despite chilly temps in the low 30’s F. And, 94,000 spectators at the Rose Bowl witnessed the TCU Horned Frogs defeat the Wisconsin Badgers 21 to 19.
The 2010 Rose Parade started right on time at 8AM Pacific Standard Time on Friday, January 1, 2010 under sunny skies and about 60 degrees. The parade theme was “2010: A Cut Above the Rest.” It was the 121st year for the Pasadena, California parade. On the same day, the Rose Bowl college football game took place just after 2PM PST. The Ohio Buckeyes beat the Oregon Ducks.
The original parade began at the Valley Hunt Club in Pasadena in 1890 as a way to show off the pleasant winter weather in Southern California to visitors from back east. The initial parade featured horse-drawn carts and stagecoaches. These early “floats” were decorated with fresh flowers to reinforce the warm weather theme. It was also good business sense because it helped to display the fact that fresh fruit and vegetables could be purchased in the middle of winter. The initial event was more of a festival in that there were races and other sports games held on the grounds of the Hunt Club. Because of this combination of
sports and flower-covered parade floats, the name Tournament of Roses was given to the event. In 1895 the parade was moved from the Hunt Club grounds (because it had grown too big) to an area now known as Tournament Park. The parade has taken place on Colorado Boulevard since then. Also taking place in the early years was a chariot race. The Rose Bowl football game did not take place until 1923 when the football game was played in the then-new Rose Bowl Stadium. However, in 1902 a Tournament East-West Football Game was played and then in 1916 another football game was played that has been held annually since then. Today’s parade usually features over 40 floats gliding along the 5 mile parade route. Those who want to see the floats in the staging area can arrive early. Conversely, at the end of the parade, the floats are typically on display for public viewing.
Parade Day
It probably goes without saying but we'll say it anyway: plan ahead! Traffic around Los Angeles is challenging no matter what day it is. On parade day it's very difficult to travel around the Pasadena area. Carpools or bus transportation are good options. Even if you are only going to see the staging area or the float displays at the end, it's best to leave early, have a map, and plan a few alternatives.
