A New Year’s Dream Come True in Pasadena, CA
Where’s the happiest place in America on new year’s day? Pasadena California!
It started with this float - that soldier is 45 feet high!
Embarking on my fiftieth year, supposedly a life-defining time, though I don’t know why, I decided to fulfill a few old dreams. Being one of the world’s great procrastinators, many of these dreams are totally do-able just put off indefinitely so here’s the story of experiencing one of them.
The Tournament of Roses Parade, “the granddaddy of them all”. Having misspent countless weekend hours as a child not training for the olympics, but rather watching t.v. I took in a lot of parades. Macy’s, Eaton’s, the Grey Cup but my favorite was the Rose parade and I always wanted to be there, in person, to see those floats.
Putting the “learning to play piano” dream on the back-burner I booked flight, tickets, a hotel in LA and I was off.
Everyone Loves a Parade
I may love a parade but this was truly an over the top experience. First I hadn’t realized that every surface of those floats had to be covered with un-died flowers or seeds, leaves, or bark. I couldn’t believe the detail that went into them.
Hand glueing petals on a float
The float builders were literally hand-gluing individual petals in the final preparations. Reading the program catalog gave me some insight into the kind of scale we’re talking here. These floats had upwards of 15,000 roses, 2,500 orchids, 22,000 daisies……. carnations, marigolds, live trees and more.
Smoother surfaces were covered with, depending on the colour requirement, coconut, crushed walnut shells, lettuce seeds, sushi seaweed, flax seeds, de-hydrated shredded carrot and of course various grasses.
The Float Themes.
“Donate Life” was a float covered with portraits of people, created from seeds, who had donated their organs and those riding the float were organ recipients. Another focused on the blind and visually impaired with all the band members and the color guard being blind, each requiring a guide. Hold on I thought, I expected to be enthralled and entertained, but not moved and a little weapy!
Not like at home …… here the bands are 250 to 300 members strong with some serious baton twirlers. And every time a military band went by, everyone rose to their feet. My estimation is that this is a country with wildly diverging political opinions and varying degrees of support for their country’s foreign policies but no matter what, they support the men and women who serve, including the 500 eagle scouts who also marched.
The horses, I had completely forgotten about all the horses. Andalusians, Arabians, Palaminos, Quarterhorses, trick riders, rodeo riders…. all coming from far and wide and beautifully turned out. How they managed to stable, feed and water all those horses I can’t imagine.
Checking out last minute decoratin
But in the end it was the crowd that was so amazing. Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people, some sitting in the bleachers, some having slept on the street all night. Everyone happy, smiling, singing. There was no pushing, I heard no swearing; just everyone enjoying a clear, sunny, crisp California morning and taking in a 121 year tradition.
And after two and half hours (and believe me the time flew) the parade finished and that bubbly crowd dispersed; to the game, the tail gate parties or home to enjoy the rest of the new year’s holiday with family and friends.
It was everything I’d expected and way more. Now I can dream of returning another year.
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