So I’ve been kind of tough on the Big Balloon Parade (Macy’s Thanksgiving). First of all, it’s not that damn big compared to the one us Nutmeggers throw each year in Stamford- we rival or exceed it in number of Big Balloons and Bands which brings me to point 2. The Floats are insipid rolling stage sets for C List singers and Broadway Shows. Little attention is paid to the Parade itself, coverage consists of not so witty banter from your usual Network Morning Show crew, grumpy and resentful about being stuck outside instead of in a nice, warm studio, and another bunch of singers too lowly to even rate their own float, lip syncing during the interminable wait for something even vaugely interesting to happen.
It’s a huge waste of time and I’ve stopped bothering. If I wanted to watch Network Morning Shows, I would. It doesn’t even have the local weather.
The Rose Parade is different. There are 3 parts. The first is those gorgeous and elaborate Floats, always covered (in all the visible parts anyway) in flowers or plant products and many extensively animated.
The other unique part is the Equestrian Units. I can tell you from personal experience they’re not so much fun to march behind, but if you like Horsies this is the Parade for you.
Finally the are the Bands (of course I marched in some, and we were damn good too though Parades are kind of stupid and boring compared to Field Shows), the nice thing about Rose Parade coverage is that they let you hear more than 15 seconds of them (especially since some of them have been fundraising for years to affort what, for the kids, is a once in a lifetime trip. That’s how my Mom got to go.).
Now the Floats are something, and really, really expensive which is why most of them have Corporate sponsorship (don’t let the Charities and Communities fool you). They can take a year to design and assemble (each one) and that’s before you start sticking the flowers on. Currently most of them are the product of a few professional companies that specialize in producing them. This year (in decending order) they are-
- 16 Phoenix
- 11 Fiesta
- 4 Paradiso
- 3 AES
Along with 6 that are Self-Built. The Award categories mean nothing, they’re like participation awards, everybody gets one and if they don’t have a category they’ll make one up. Hopefully you’ll get a chance to see all 40 along with the 20 Equestrian Units and 18 Bands.
Floats
| Sponsor | Constructor |
| 4 Hour Fitness | AES |
| AIDS Healthcare Foundation | Fiesta |
| American Armenian Rose Float Association | Phoenix |
| American Honda Motor Co. | Phoenix |
| BDK, a Singpoli Affiliate | Paradiso |
| Burbank Tournament of Roses Association | Self-Built |
| Cal Poly Universities | Self-Built |
| California Milk Advisory Board | Fiesta |
| China Airlines | AES |
| City of Alhambra, CA | Phoenix |
| City of Hope | Phoenix |
| City of Los Angeles | Fiesta |
| Dole Packaged Foods | Fiesta |
| Donate Life | Paradiso |
| Downey Rose Float Association | Self-Built |
| Farmers Insurance | Phoenix |
| Kaiser Permanente | Fiesta |
| Kiwanis International | Phoenix |
| La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Association | Self-Built |
| Lions Clubs International | Phoenix |
| Lucy Pet | Fiesta |
| Lutheran Laymen’s League | Phoenix |
| Miracle-Gro | Fiesta |
| National Hockey League (NHL) | Phoenix |
| Netflix | AES |
| Northwestern Mutual | Fiesta |
| Occupational Therapy Association of California | Fiesta/td> |
| Odd Fellows Rebekahs Rose Float | Phoenix |
| RAGÚ | Paradiso |
| Rotary Rose Parade Float Committee, Inc. | Phoenix |
| Shriners Hospitals for Children | Phoenix |
| Sierra Madre Float Association | Self-Built |
| South Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association | Self-Built |
| The Bachelor | Fiesta |
| The UPS Store, Inc. | Paradiso |
| Torrance Rose Float Association | Fiesta |
| Trader Joe’s | Phoenix |
| Union Bank and the American Heart Association Western States Affiliate | Phoenix |
| United Sikh Mission | Phoenix |
| Western Asset Management Company | Phoenix |
And 1 from each of the 2 Rose Bowl Teams.
Equestrian Units
| 1st Cavalry Division Horse Cavalry Detachment (Fort Hood, Texas) |
| Backcountry Horsemen of California – Mid-Valley Unit (Sonora, California) |
| Budweiser Clydesdales (St. Louis, Missouri) |
| California Highway Patrol Mounted Patrol Unit (Sacramento, California) |
| Kern County Sheriff’s Mounted Posse (Bakersfield, California) |
| Los Hermanos Bañuelos Charro Team (Altadena, California) |
| Mane Attraction Equestrian Drill Team (Riverside, California) |
| Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament (Buena Park, California) |
| The New Buffalo Soldiers (Shadow Hills, California) |
| The Norco Cowgirls & The Little Miss Norco Cowgirls Rodeo Drill Team (Norco, California) |
| Philippine Scouts Heritage Society – U.S. Army’s 26th Cavalry Regiment (Los Angeles, California) |
| Santa Barbara County Sheriff Mounted Enforcement Unit (Santa Barbara, California) |
| Scripps Miramar Saddlebreds (San Diego, California) |
| Seven Oaks Farm Miniature Therapy Horses (Hamilton, Ohio) |
| Spirit of the West Riders (Leona Valley, California) |
| Union Rescue Mission – Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California) |
| United States Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard (Barstow, California) |
| Valley Hunt Club (Pasadena, California) |
| Victorian Roses Ladies Riding Society (San Diego, California) |
| Wells Fargo Stagecoaches (Los Angeles, California) |
Bands
| Arcadia High School – Arcadia High School Apache Marching Band and Color Guard, Arcadia, CA |
| Bands of America Honor Band (Representing all 50 States) – Indianapolis, IN |
| Broken Arrow High School – The Pride of Broken Arrow, Broken Arrow, OK |
| Escuela Secundaria Tecnica Industrial No. 3 – Buhos Marching Band, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico |
| Foothill High School – Falcon Marching Band, Henderson, NV |
| Gifusho Green Band – Gifu, Japan |
| Grove City High School – The Grove City High School Marching Band, Grove City, OH |
| Lawrence Township – Marching Pride of Lawrence Township, Indianapolis, IN |
| Los Angeles Unified School District – All District High School Honor Band, Los Angeles, CA |
| Martin Luther King, Jr. High School – MLK “Kings of Halftime,” Lithonia, GA |
| Niceville High School – Eagle Pride, Niceville, FL |
| Ooltewah High School – Ooltewah High School Marching Band, Ooltewah, TN |
| Pasadena City College Tournament of Roses Honor Band & Herald Trumpets – Pasadena, CA |
| Pulaski High School – Red Raider Marching Band, Pulaski, WI |
| The Salvation Army Tournament of Roses Band – Los Angeles, CA |
| Santa Clara Vanguard – Santa Clara, CA |
| United States Marine Corps West Coast Composite Band – MCAS Miramar, MCRD San Diego and Camp Pendleton, CA |
| United States Air Force Total Force Band – Travis Air Force Base, CA |
| Westlake High School – Chaparral Band, Austin, TX |
And 1 from each of the 2 Rose Bowl Teams.
I particularly draw your attention to the Santa Clara Vanguard, which is a Drum Corps, not a band, and has been consistently nationally ranked for years.
1 comments
happy new year ek.
I grew up in the L.A. area, played in marching bands, and went to a Pac-10 school, so the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl have always been a big deal for me. I only watched the end this morning though, after this reminded me.
several of my high school band friends did the Rose Parade with the L.A. All-city HS band, still on the list above. At least then it was brass and drums only so I wasn’t eligible (playing sax at the time).
i think I watched the parade live twice, back around 1980. a bunch of us went out and spent the night on the sidewalk on Colorado Blvd toward the end of the route. One thing you don’t see on TV, because the cameras are all near the beginning, is that at least back then the floats weren’t very reliable. I remember 2 or 3 long breaks both times because something broke down.
then i was finally in the parade in 2000 as an alumni member of the Stanford band.
here’s our parade video, i’m visible running past (on sousaphone) at 2:01
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgoOzfZO8Ks
and visible again in the halftime show at 1:02
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsV2nXErU5U
parade marching is somewhat stupid and boring for normal bands but you’ve never done it with a band that NEVER moves and plays at the same time. That is not a skill the Stanford Band has, and to make it more fun, at the Rose Parade the TV cameras for a billion or so international viewers are watching you make that big turn. We spent hours practicing the marching part.