Despite a hiccup at the end of the parade, organizers of the New Year’s Day event were very happy with how it all went down.

By Charly SHELTON

Thanksgiving has the Macy’s Parade. Christmas Day has “A Christmas Story” on TBS. And for millions of viewers around the world New Year’s Day means The Tournament of Roses Parade. The essential companion for nursing a New Year’s hangover is the intersection of roses, entertainment, horses and marching bands, followed by football. The 130th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade was held Monday in Pasadena, delighting fans in person, on TV and streaming on the internet.

“We were very happy with the parade,” said Dave Link, chairman of Parade Operations. “Obviously the weather was wonderful, all the participants showed up and were available, and the parade rolled through, for the most part, beautifully.”

For the most part, as Link noted, the parade went off without a hitch. Unfortunately, one of the parade floats near the end of the lineup had a small fire onboard and had to be evacuated then towed down the parade route. Officially, the fire is still under investigation to see what happened and a report will be issued within the next week or two, Link said. Despite the hiccup, all the entrants were able to finish the parade route, if a bit delayed.

Many other outlets covering the parade, as well as much of the social media traffic, only mentioned the one problem at the end of the parade. But that small issue shouldn’t overshadow all of the amazing floats, marching bands, equestrian units and performers who made this a great event. Some of the floats – like the Farmers Insurance Group entry “A Carousel of Experience” that featured a real, working carousel, and the Trader Joe’s float “Ride Captain Ride” that featured a nearly full-sized hot air balloon opening up into a giant music box – showcased incredible technology in parade float design. Some entrants featured local heroes and dignitaries, including the mayor of Pasadena, a cadre of firefighters who fought the huge wildfires in northern California in 2018, and Pasadena firefighter Heywot Kollee, who was unfortunately misrepresented by a TV announcer and was actually a firefighter at the Woolsey Fire.

Some floats brought along thrilling entertainers for the ride down the route – like Grand Marshal Chaka Khan opening the parade,
Portugal.The Man on the Chipotle float, Anne-Marie on the Wells Fargo finale float and Kool & the Gang on the Stella Rosa Winery float singing “Stella-brate Good Times, Come On! It’s a Stella-bration!”

“We were very pleased, and I think the crowd was very happy with the performance from our band from Puerto Rico,” Link said. “A huge band, lots of color, great ancillary units with the dancers that preceded the band on the parade route. I thought that was spectacular, and then our Sweepstakes [Award] winner of the UPS Store float – I just thought was over the top this year. It was beautiful.”

  Charly Shelton, Sabrina SHELTON