Rose Parade Floats, 2022 (Photo – Melissa Michelson)
Whether you are visiting Pasadena or live in the area, here are 24 facts to know about the 2024 Rose Parade.
By Wafic Khalil
1- The 135th Rose Parade will take place on Monday, January 1st, and will have chilly and windy weather (by SoCal standards) compared to last year. Camping Tips in this report.
2- The Parade’s theme is “Celebrating a World of Music: The Universal Language.”
3- Close to 750,000 people are estimated to attend the Rose Parade, and the celebration will air live on eight networks to more than 56 million viewers. The parade will also be televised in 174 countries, which will attract an additional 28 million viewers.
4- There will be almost 1,000 “white suiters,” the ones that wear all-white suits and red neckties, fanning out across Pasadena on New Year’s Day making sure the parade goes smoothly.
5- The parade floats will arrive on-site before midnight, line up, and then park in the middle of the closed street.
6- “White suiters” get assigned as overnight float protection keeping cars from entering the float formation area, and will prevent anyone in a car from entering, except for brain surgeons on the way to perform brain surgery!
7- The Tournament of Roses has more than 20 committees (935 members of the non-profit Tournament of Roses Association), each supporting a different element of the parade and the Rose Bowl game.
8- The Tournament takes care of its people. Throughout the long night, a van will come around constantly with coffee, hot chocolate, and snacks.
9- The line-up will have around 40 float entries, 18 equestrian groups and 21 marching bands.
(Lineup is subject to change at the last minute).
10- In addition to the use of traditional flowers, some floats’ designs will sprout palm tree fiber, kidney beans, orange lentils, crushed sweet rice, and black pepper seed, to name a few.
11- Float liaisons (the ones who ride a white scooter, wear a white helmet, and escort the floats along the route) spend ten Saturday mornings between June and December directing traffic so that floats can safely road-test-their engines and animation effects.
12- As a native Southern Californian, you should never use the word “cold” unless you want to be reprimanded by visitors from the east coast.
13- Award-Winning Performer Audra McDonald is the 2024 Tournament of Roses Grand Marshal. Audra will ride in the 135th Rose Parade and join in the pre-game celebration of the CFP Semifinal at the 110th Rose Bowl Game.
14- David Archuleta, Cassadee Pope, Michelle Williams and Rush Davis will kick off The 135th Rose Parade with Opening Spectacular.
15- The Grand Finale of the 135th Rose Parade will be presented by Jordin Sparks, winner of American Idol’s electric sixth season.
16- The Pasadena Rose Queen for 2024, Naomi Stillitano, is a senior at Arcadia High School, and lives in Arcadia.
17- The 2024 Royal Court members were chosen from a pool of 25 finalists, which were part of a larger pool of almost 900 young women, and few young men. (Maybe in few years, a young man will make history as the first male Rose Queen!).
18- The recipient of the 2023 Rose Bowl Game Keith Jackson Postgraduate Scholarship is Ariana Cowper from Indiana University. She will be awarded a $10,000 scholarship toward her postgraduate education in addition to receiving a unique and specialized work-study experience at the 2024 Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game.
19- The parade will travel 5.5 miles, starting at the corner of Green Street, north on Orange Grove Boulevard, then east onto Colorado Boulevard, before it turns north onto Sierra Madre Boulevard and wraps up on Villa Street.
20- The new 2024 Kitty Queen in Pasadena is Queen Eleven! She was crowned by none other than the Rose Queen herself. Details in this report.
21- This year’s Rose Bowl Hall of Fame inductees, ESPN broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit, former Washington offensive lineman Lincoln Kennedy and legendary Columbia quarterback Cliff Montgomery, will be honored in the 135th Rose Parade and presented on the field during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game.
22- A Visitor Hotline at (877) 793-9911 is available from Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023, to Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, except Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.
23- U-Haul trucks full of unused float flowers will be delivered to San Marino Community Church on 1750 Virginia Road, to be bundled into bouquets and distributed to local elderly residents that are alone or just don’t have family visiting during the holidays.
24- For the first time, the Tournament of Roses has paired with lululemon for a 5K Run. Starting at the stroke of midnight on December 31, 2023, runners will crowd Colorado Blvd., equipped with custom race bibs. Details at this link.
A lot of volunteers put this incomparable parade together for you. They don’t get paid. Your smile is their pay. They will be cold as you will be, too. Bundle up, smile at them, and have a great time!
More 2024 Rose Parade:
> Pasadena Rose Parade Safety Tips.
> Meet Pasadena Tournament of Roses 2024 Royal Court.
> Meet the President of 2024 Pasadena Tournament of Roses.
> Pasadena Has a New Kitty Queen!
> Pasadena’s 40th Annual Visitor Hotline is Live.
Go Wolverines !
I like 12 👌; 24 ❤️