Wed - Jan 1/14

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Wishing one and all a great year ahead!

Slept in again until 9 am. (This is getting to be a habit!)

 

 

The park is so quiet!

We are taking it easy this morning while watching the Rose Parade.

The 125th Rose Parade (Theme: "Dreams Come True") features 48 floral floats,

20 marching bands,

and 16 equestrian units.

It gets underway at 8 am; however, TV viewers actually see the floats much later as they pass the reviewing area near the end of the 5.5 mile route along Colorado Boulevard (Pasadena, CA) starting around 11 am.

While all grandstand seating for the Rose Parade is sold out, free curbside viewing is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Parade-goers can begin camping out along the sidewalk on Colorado Boulevard at noon Tuesday. (700,000 expected). (Security is heightened as a result of the Boston Marathon Bombing)

Pasadena's Valley Hunt Club staged the first parade in 1890. It has been held in Pasadena every New Year's Day, except when January 1 falls on a Sunday. In that case, it is held on the subsequent Monday, January 2. This exception was instituted in 1893.

Local tradition has it that "the Tournament has a deal with God; we'll never hold the parade on a Sunday, and He'll never let it rain on the Rose Parade." However, truth be known, this "Never on Sunday" policy was instituted in order "to avoid frightening horses tethered outside local churches and thus interfering with worship services."

Incidentally, the Rose Bowl Game is also not held on Sunday to avoid competing with the NFL. Other bowl games usually held on January 1 also follow this rule, as does the NHL Winter Classic (Hockey Game played outside - not indoors). The Detroit Red Wings host the Toronto Maple Leafs in Today's Winter Classic at 1 pm.

Game Conditions at Ann Arbor, MI: Temp: 13 F. (Wind Chill = 0 F.) and light snow.

In short, this will be the coldest of the six NHL Winter Classics played so far. That makes for nearly 110,000 freezing fans. This crowd should make the Guinness Book of Records as the largest outdoor hockey crowd in history!

Hey! Being Canadian, we're cheering for the Toronto Maple Leafs as the play the Detroit Red Wings in today's NHL Winter Classic from Ann Arbor, MI (1 pm - Eastern Time) but, I digress.

The club organized horse-drawn carriages covered in flowers, followed by foot races, polo matches, and a game of tug-of-war on the town lot that attracted a crowd of 2,000 to the event. Upon seeing the scores of flowers on display, the professor decided to suggest the name "Tournament of Roses."

The first associated football game was played in 1902. Originally titled the "Tournament East-West football game," it is considered to be the original Rose Bowl Game. The next game was not played until New Year's Day 1916 and annually since then.

By 1895, the event was too large for the Valley Hunt Club to handle. The Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association was formed and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

 

This year there are 45 floats that compete for one of 24 awards selected by three judges each year.

 

 

Honda's float, being the official sponsor, does not compete, even though it's 5 linked sections will break the record for length at 274 feet.

 

Each float is required to have all surfaces of the framework covered in natural materials (such as flowers, plants, seaweeds, seeds, bark, vegetables, or nuts, etc.) No artificial flowers, colouring or plant material is allowed.

 

Many floats are commercially built; however, community based floats still depend mainly on volunteers to help in covering the framework. All this has to be done a few days before the parade. They also have to find ways to keep the live materials from fading or dying for a number of days before and after the parade. Last-minute volunteer opportunities are usually available for visitors wanting a unique experience.

 

The Showcase of Floats takes place Jan. 1 (1-5 pm) and Jan. 2 (9- 5 pm). Tickets $10.

 

It may surprise you to learn that the roses adorning the floats are grown in South America, as are about 80 percent of all the cut flowers flowers sold in the United States. The amazing thing in this years Rose Parade is that one float - "Bedtime Buccaneers" - will use over 94 percent American grown flowers - most of which were donated by California growers.

Meanwhile, back at the Winter Classic, Toronto 3 - Detroit 2 in an overtime, shootout victory!

No sun and the predicted rain, although very light, was steady from the afternoon onwards.

All in all - a good restful day!