It happens every year in Pasadena, and millions around the world watch. And here we go again. The 117th Rose Parade - themed It's Magical - will take place on Monday, January 2, instead of the usual New Years Day. The Rose Parade features three types of entries - floral floats entered by a participating corporation or community organization, equestrian units, and marching bands. The only cars that appear in the Rose Parade are those that carry the Grand Marshal - Sandra Day O'Conner this year (in 1947 it was Bob Hope and in 1953 Richard Nixon) – and the Mayor of Pasadena and the Tournament of Roses President. This shoot was of these floral floats being assembled - Thursday, December 29, in and around the Rose Bowl. The Rose Bowl game, USC versus Texas, is January 4th, by the way.

You will find an album of sixty-one photos here - Backstage: Building the Floats for the Tournament of Roses Parade.

Here is some background -

Tournament of Roses Events - Float Decorating
Rose Parade Gets 1st Makeover in 117 Years (AP)
The history of the parade…
Past Grand Marshalls of the Tournament of Roses Parade
The Rose Bowl Stadium
Rose Bowl Game Preview (AP)

Some photos from the album -

If you use any of these photos for commercial purposes I assume you'll discuss that with me.  

There is a copyright notice at the bottom of this page, of course.

These were shot with a Nikon D70 – lens AF-5 Nikor 18-70mm 1:35-4.5G ED

They were modified for web posting using Adobe Photoshop 7.0

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