New Year's Day - The Rose Parade

New Year's Day 2007. A beautiful clear sunny morning. Every 1st January here in Pasadena is the time for the Tournament of Roses Rose Parade. It is quite the spectacular as hand decorated floats and bands parade down Colorado Blvd for 5 miles. The special thing about the parade is that all the floats must be decorated with only flowers and vegetable matter. Everything you see below is flowers, friuits, grasses, sprouts and other vegetables, rice, lentils etc. Many of the floats are animated too. The one with dragon pictured below actually breathed fire. It also attracts many celebrities. For example, Jack Hannah the naturalist was on one float, and James Mason was riding on the Oaklahoma 100 years float (pictured in the right column, 4th photo down). George Lucas was the Grand Marshall, and accordingly there were also a couple of Star Wars floats and a procession of 200 storm troopers.

Ewan watched from the Baby-Bjorn. he like the marching bands and the color guards with the big flags the best. However after about 2/3rds of the parade had passed he was done for the morning and passed out.