Tournament of Roses Parade - Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Oh here I am again, January 1st, not only am I excited for what the New Year holds but giddy because my favorite parade of the year is on TV, The Tournament of Roses Parade. Of course I have my DVR on record because I know watching it once will not be enough for me.

This years theme was based on Dr. Suess's "Oh the Places You'll Go". The Rose Parade features 42 floats, 21 equestrian groups, and 23 marching bands from as far away as Japan. It draws a live audience along the parade route of one million people, 39 million Americans watching on television and hundreds of millions more watching in 220 countries around the world.

Besides the awesome floats in this years parade, it also included a heart touching reunion of a solider and his family, a live wedding atop the "Love Float" and British primatologist Jane Goodall who was quoted as saying
"My dream for this New Year's Day is for everyone to think of the places we can all go if we work together to make our world a better place".

I can't say I remember the first time I saw the parade but I can say that every year when I watch it I am in complete awe. So many flowers! And I know I've said this before but one day I would love to volunteer and be part of the beauty created on such a large scale. Below is a peak at what goes into each creation.

Did you watch the Tournament of Roses Parade? What was your favorite float?

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Here are some more interesting facts about the Rose Parade:

• It takes 20 daisies, 30 roses or 36 marigolds to cover one square foot of a float area.
• Over 500,000 roses are used in the parade.
• Each of the millions of flowers you see is in its own vial.
• It takes 15 tons of steel along with 10,000 feet of chicken wire for the framework of a float.
• 600 tons of steel, 5,000 gallons of glue and 18 million flowers are used to make the floats each year. The Tournament of Roses is the largest consumer of flowers in the world, and flowers arrive from all over the world.
• The cost of flowers is included in the total cost of the float and paid for by the float sponsor.
• 935 peope spent 80,000 hours to manpower and plan the parade.
• Floats must collapse to no more than 16.5 ft. high, to pass under a freeway overpass/
• Natural materials, such as bark, seeds, leaves and flowers cover the floats.
• Length of parade is 5.5 miles, about 2.25 hours long at 2.5 miles per hour pace.
• Real fresh flowers are used. Different kinds of flowers may be used; however, one float used nothing but red roses.
• Floats are judged in 14 categories, with varying weights; the most important categories are those relating to floral usage. Winners are announced at 6 a.m. on parade day.
• Twenty-four awards were given for some 50 float entries before the parade started.