The Rose Parade takes place on New Years Day in Pasadena, CA. After watching the Rose Parade on tv for many years I was excited to finally get to see it in person this year. You can camp out on the street on New Years Eve or wake up extremely early to try and get a spot on the street. Hotels with rooms facing the parade route can be extremely expensive but it is an option. Or you can do what I did and purchase a seat in the bleachers lining the parade route. Since I’m short this helped guarantee that I would have a good view and not get stuck behind someone tall. The tickets can be purchased at sharpseating and if you are planning on going to the Rose Parade this is a great way to do it.
The theme for the 2015 parade was Inspiring Stories and in 2014 in was announced that Louis Zamperini would be the grand marshall. Louis Zamperini was an Olympic athlete who surivied a POW camp in WWII. Unfortunately, Louis passed away before the 2015 Rose Parade but there was still a float in his honor. If you have not seen Unbroken, a movie made about his life, I highly recommend it because he has an incredible story. The family of Louis Zamperini did participate in the parade on his behalf which I am sure meant a lot to them.
Finding parking in the area was a bit tricky with road closures and with all of the other people who had come to see the parade. It was about a two mile walk from where we parked to where our seats were. There are people selling programs but they only take cash so come prepared if you are interested in getting one. Our seats were located towards the end of the parade route so we were just taking our seats around 8:00am when the parade was starting. It took around thirty minutes for the parade to get to us. The floats are so beautiful and very impressive like this Honda float that has the Statue of Liberty on it.
One of my favorite floats was sponsored by Dole and featured a volcano with real fire and a canoe that moved back and forth. It also featured a waterfall so I was curious where I could purchase this float so I could put it in my backyard. I was so amazed by how incredible the floats were and the amount of detail that had been put into them. There were some floats that I like more than others but they were all so amazing and I know how hard people worked to make them so nice. There were lots of marching bands that came between the floats as well as a lot of equestrian. There was a float sponsored by ABC’s The Bachelor and had Chris Harrison & Chris Soules on it and featured a hot tub because you can’t have the bachelor without a hot tub.
This float was sponsored by Princess Cruises and had cast members from The Love Boat on the front. You never know who you might see on one of the floats. But even more impressive than the people on the floats are the designs and beautiful flowers. The parade was long with all of the bands, horses and floats and I certainly felt like it was worth the time and money. I have great memories from attending the parade in person and now that I have watched it from the bleachers I can say first hand what a great view you will have.
The floats for the Rose Parade are created primarily by volunteers. If that is something that you are interested in you can find out more information by visiting the Rose Parade website. The theme for the 2016 Rose Parade is Find Your Adventure and if you share how you find your adventure on social media you could win free tickets to the parade. Make sure to check out the Rose Parade on twitter for more information. In addition to watching the parade in person you can also purchase a $10 ticket to view the floats upclose after the parade is over. Now I just have to figure out how I can be on a float during the parade!
Rose Parade website: http://www.tournamentofroses.com/rose-parade
Rose Parade twitter: https://twitter.com/roseparade
I have seen this on tv, but would love to go see it in person some day.
I love going to parades they are so much fun and all the floats look wonderful will you go again?
I’m planning on going again this year. Disney recently posted a picture on twitter of what their float will look like and I thought “I have to see that in person!” but i think this year I’m going to go after the parade to see the floats up close
I’ve always wanted to go to the Rose Parade. The amount of detail in the floats is amazing!
The Rose Parade is such a lovely event! I’ve never seen it live, but I would love to!
I love parades. My boys would love to see these floats.
Wow this would be a lot of fun, something on my bucketlist .
Rose Parade would be amazing
That Rose parade was really a fun event. I never seen this in person but i love it.
I haven’t tried to attend an parade like this, I’m sure you had fun experienced. I wish I was there.
Thanks for sharing about this. I live in San Diego and often drive to LA just to see new attractions!
I love this! The rose parade is on my bucket list :) Thanks for sharing.
Love the interesting floats! I can’t imagine how time consuming making them must be!
I have only watched this a couple times on the telly and it was beautiful. Would be nice to see it live.
This parade sounds like something that children would love to watch!
That would be a total bucket list item for me! I’m a tad bit jealous, but I’m glad you shared some highlights.
Many years ago _ I was able to attend the Rose Bowl Parade – it was really awesome
My in laws live right by this so I need to take advantage someday! Lois Zamperini is so inspiring, it’s too bad he wasn’t able to make it to that day, but lovely of his family to do so!
I haven’t been to the Rose parade, but have always wanted to go :) Sounds fun!
I would love to see this parade in person. I have only seen this on TV.
I wish we lived closer and could go to the rose parade. It looks like so much fun!
Unfortunately for me i can’t enjoy activities like this due to my pts and not really trusting huge crowds.
I went to the rose parade afew years ago. It was more fun than I thought it would be!
One time many years ago I saw the floats prior to the parade. It was so cool seeing them up close.
Would love to attend this. I’ve heard lots about it and your post brought it to life for me.
This seems like such and fun day full of tradition. I love when people come together for things like this. I live in San Antonio and everytime the Spurs make the playoffs the city goes crazy… besides the traffic it’s great lol
I am so jealous! I have always wanted to go to the Rose Parade! I would love to see the floats up close, the detail is amazing. Congrats on going!
I love the Rose Parade! What a great tradition!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
I’ve never heard of a rose parade. That sounds lovely
Nice, this sounds like such a fun event! I’ll have to go if I’m ever in Pasadena at the right time. The Rose Parade sounds really similar to the Rose Festival in Portland, definitely an abundance of cool floats at the one up here as well!