2016 Tournament of Roses Parade Rose Bowl

Floats

Mascot Nellie, and Lou Ann Hammond, show you the floats, bands, and equestrians from this years 2016 Rose Bowl Parade.

The Rose Parade’s elaborate floats have come a long way since the Tournament’s early days. Today, float building is a multi-million dollar business and float construction begins almost immediately after the previous year’s parade is concluded.

The process starts with a specially-built chassis, upon which is built a framework of steel and chicken wire. In a process called “cocooning,” the frame is sprayed with a polyvinyl material, which is then painted in the colors of the fresh flowers or dry material to be applied later. Every inch of every float must be covered with flowers or other natural materials, such as leaves, seeds or bark. Volunteer workers swarm over the floats in the days after Christmas, their hands and clothes covered with glue and petals. The most delicate flowers are placed in individual vials of water, which are set into the float one by one.

Through all the changes, the Rose Parade has remained true to its floral beginnings, and each float is decorated with more flowers than the average florist will use in five years.

• B-2 Bomber flyover

2016 FLOATS – click on the name to go to the video

MARCHING BANDS

Mascot Nellie, and Lou Ann Hammond, show you the floats, bands, and equestrians from this years 2016 Rose Bowl Parade.

The first marching band to appear in the Rose Parade was the Monrovia Town Band in 1891, with fewer than 20 members. Today, it’s not uncommon to see marching bands with 300 or more members in the parade. Well over 50 musical groups compete for as few as 12 openings every year.

Bands are selected approximately 15 months in advance to give the groups time to raise the money needed for the trip to Pasadena.

2016 MARCHING BANDS – click on the name to go to the video

• Albany State University – Marching Rams, Albany, Ga.
• Allen High School – The Allen Eagle Escadrille, Allen, Texas
• Centro Escolar José Maria Morelos y Pavón – Aguilas Doradas Marching Band, Puebla, Mexico
• Franklin Regional High School – Panther Band, Murrysville, Pa.
• Iowa marching band
• Instituto Pedro Molina – Latin Band Pedro Molina, Guatemala
• Jenks High School – Trojan Pride, Jenks, Okla.
• Los Angeles Unified School District, All District High School Honor Band, Los Angeles
• Mira Mesa High School – Sapphire Sound, San Diego, Calif.
• Pasadena City College Tournament of Roses Honor Band & Herald Trumpets, Pasadena, Calif.
• Plymouth-Canton Educational Park – Plymouth-Canton Educational Park, Canton, Mich.
• Punahou School – Punahou Marching Band, Honolulu, Hawaii
• Saratoga High School – Saratoga High School Marching Band and Color Guard, Saratoga, Calif.
• The Salvation Army Tournament of Roses Band, Los Angeles
• Toho High School – Toho High School Green Band, Japan
• Rancho Cucamonga, CA Etiwanda High School Marching Eagle Regiment
• Virginia Military Institute – VMI Regimental Band, Lexington, Va.
• William Mason High School – Mason High School Marching Band, Mason, Ohio
• Wyoming All-State Marching Band, Cheyenne, Wyoming

EQUESTRIAN UNITS

Mascot Nellie, and Lou Ann Hammond, show you the floats, bands, and equestrians from this years 2016 Rose Bowl Parade.

Since the very beginning, horses have been part of the Rose Parade, with equines pulling flower decorated carriages on New Year’s Day 1890. Even with the advent of motorized vehicles in the parade, equestrian units have remained an integral component each year, highlighting a wide variety of breeds including graceful Andalusians, striking Percherons, and elegant Saddlebreds.

Skilled riders, eye-catching costumes, and hand-crafted tack add to the appeal year after year.

2016 EQUESTRIAN UNITS – click on the name to go to the video

• 1st Cavalry Horse Detachment – Fort Hood
• American Endurance Ride Conference
• Anheuser Busch Budweiser Clydesdales
• Calizona Appaloosa Horse Club
• Dakota Thunder Shires
• Long Beach Mounted Police
• Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
• Los Hermanos Bañuelos
• Martinez Family
• Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament
• National Park Service
• The New Buffalo Soldiers
• The Norco Cowgirls & The Little Miss Norco Cowgirls Rodeo Drill Team
• Scripps Miramar Ranch
• Spirit of the West Riders
• U.S. Army Field Artillery Half Section – Fort Sill
• U.S. Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard
• Valley Hunt Club
• Wells Fargo stagecoach