Tournament of Roses Parade - Just Imagine....

Honda 2011 Rose Parade Float

_So Monday morning I was sitting in awe watching the Tournament of Roses Parade on TV. This years theme was Just Imagine... As the announcer is describing each float and what they are made of, I am mentally taking each float apart in my head. Imagining the mechanics and labor that went into each detail. I was glad I set my DVR because I have since watched it 2 more times and I haven't deleted it yet. The few seconds you get to look at each float is just not enough for a curious florist. I felt like a kid in the candy store. Every inch of ever float held a new surprise for me. I can only dream of a day when I may get to see such wonder in person or even better yet, get to work on such a piece of art. The Tournament of Roses Parade is definitely on my bucket list.

Interesting facts about the parade:
*The Rose Parade dates back to 1890. The first Rose Bowl didn't     take place until 1902.
*The parade is always held on New Year's Day, unless New Year's Day falls on a Sunday. Like this year.
*All materials used to decorate the float must be organic and plant based.
    - Some of the fun ones I heard mentioned were flowers(of course), crushed lentils, raw cotton, seaweed,             seeds, bark, vegetables, and rice.
*It is estimated that it takes 60 volunteers working 10 hours a day for 10 days to decorate one float.
*20 daisies, 30 roses or 36 marigolds will cover one square foot of a float area.
*Over 500,000 roses (in vials) are used in the parade.
*The Tournament of Roses is the largest consumer of flowers in the world. One float uses more flowers to              decorate than a florist would use in 5 years.
*Floats must collapse to no more than 16.5 ft high, to pass under a freeway overpass.
*The 2012 Rose Parade had 44 floats, 16 bands, and more than 300 horses and riders.
*2012 - Estimated attendance was 700,000 (with an estimated 70 million watching via worldwide television).

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