By Nicole MOORE

On Jan. 2, the 128th Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade delighted onlookers, whether they were sitting in bleachers and along the sidewalks lining the parade route or watching from the comfort of their homes across America and around the world. The theme for the 2017 Rose Parade was “Echoes of Success.”

As in previous years, thousands of people opted to camp out along Colorado Boulevard before the parade despite temperatures barely grazing the lower 40s in the early morning. Families, nestled together under sleeping bags and wrapped in scarves, lined the street. Ticket holders for the parade were searched by security before entering the grandstands and were asked to dispose of thermoses, folding chairs and umbrellas.

At 8 a.m. the Air Force B-2 stealth bomber flew overhead, commencing the beginning of the parade.

The Martin Luther King Jr. High School “Kings of Halftime” marching band from Lithonia, Georgia started off the two-hour parade. The band performed an exciting rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” ending with band members doing splits and jumping over each other. All together, 21 marching bands walked the parade route representing schools from around the country and internationally, and some from the U.S. armed services and even the Salvation Army. Additionally, a total of 41 flower- and botanicals-covered floats traveled down the five-and-half mile route, each with a unique interpretation of “Echoes of Success.”

The La Cañada Flintridge float, “Backyard Rocketeer,” which celebrated the accomplishments of JPL, won this year’s Bob Hope Humor Award. The float, made by 600 volunteers over a period of a year, showcased a young boy with his dog in a homemade rocket ship coming into contact with a cartoonish alien.

“The 2017 float is spectacular and the award is well deserved. It is the 66th entry in the parade. Notice that both JPL and NASA gave permission for their logos to be on our float,” said Mary Gant of the La Cañada Kiwanis Foundation in an email.

A bittersweet and striking entry was from The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, titled “To Honor and Remember Orlando.” The entry, adorned with 49 stars representing the victims of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting in June honored not only those victims but all those who were affected by the tragedy.

The float from The Lucy Pet Foundation, whose mission is to reduce pet overpopulation and the euthanizing of shelter animals, was another crowd favorite. Titled “Lucy Pet’s Gnarly Crankin’ K-9 Wave Maker,” the float was 126 feet long, setting a record as the longest Rose Parade float, and had Hawaiian shirt clad dogs surfing in the float’s 90-foot-long pool.

The dogs from Lucy Pet were not the only animals to dazzle the crowd. Twenty equestrian units participated in the 2017 Rose Parade, including the Budweiser Clydesdales from St. Louis, Missouri, Los Hermanos Bañuelos Charro Team from Altadena, The Norco Cowgirls & The Little Miss Norco Cowgirls Rodeo Drill Team from Norco, Seven Oaks Farm Miniature Therapy Horses from Hamilton, Ohio, and the United States Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard from Barstow.

The 2017 Rose Parade grand marshals were three Olympic gold medalists, a celebratory nod to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The grand marshals were Jane Evan, an Olympic swimmer, Allyson Felix, an Olympic sprinter, and Greg Louganis, an Olympic diver and LGBT activist. The accomplished grand marshals exemplified the parade’s “Echoes of Success” theme.

This year’s royal court included Audrey Cameron, a senior at Blair High School, Maya Khan, a senior of Arcadia High School, Shannon Larsuel, a senior at Mayfield Senior School, Autumn Lundy, a senior at Polytechnic High School, Natalie Petrosian, a senior at La Cañada High School, and Lauren Powers, a senior at Arcadia High School. Temple City Senior Victoria Castellanos was crowned the 2017 Rose Queen.

For the two days after the parade, the floats were parked and on display between Sierra Madre and Washington boulevards in Pasadena for the annual post-parade viewing event, giving guests a chance to get up close and personal with the floats before they wilt away. The LCF float will also be at Memorial Park on Saturday, weather permitting.

The theme for the 2018 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade will be “Kindness.” For more information, visit TournamentOfRoses.com.

Charly Shelton contributed to this article.

  Charly Shelton, Nicole MOORE