Grey Skies and Bright Flowers: 2017 Rose Parade Goes Off Without a Hitch

Under threatening grey skies and windy temperatures that felt much colder than the reported 40’s, the 2017 Tournament of Roses Parade went off without a hitch this morning.

According to Pasadena Police Chief Phillip Sanchez, there were “no problems” and “no major incidents” for the 128th version of the parade, which attracted up to 700,000 spectators along South Orange Grove,  Colorado, and Sierra Madre Boulevards together with millions watching TV broadcasts worldwide.

Pasadena Police oversaw the deployment of 1,500 law enforcement officers for security this year, along with 25 K9 teams, and water-filled street barricades as part of its security efforts, added Sanchez, with police officers at all 56 intersections along the parade route. It was the largest security deployment of the previous parades.

Because of tradition which holds that no parades or games are held on Sundays, both the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl game were held on a Monday.

The parade began promptly at 8 a.m., following the now-traditional B-2 Stealth Bomber flyover above Colorado Boulevard.

Rose Queen Victoria Cecilia Castellanos and her court—Audrey Mariam Cameron, Blair High School; Maya Kawaguchi Khan, Arcadia High School; Shannon Tracy Larsuel, Mayfield Senior School; Autumn Marie Lundy, Polytechnic School; Natalie Rose Petrosian, La Cañada High School; and Lauren ‘Emi’ Emiko Powers, Arcadia High School—began their reign over the parade at 8:10 a.m., waving bravely in the cold weather.

Twenty-four of the floats in the 127th Rose Parade presented by Honda received official honors from the Tournament of Roses in a variety of categories and specifications. The entire process is another one of the Tournament’s components implemented over a greater part of the past century.

This year’s judges – Carol Togneri, Phil Rulloda, and Ronnie Siegel– reviewed each float during judging sessions that take place during the decorating stages before the parade. The judges used their scores from the judging sessions to determine the trophy recipients.

Two judging sessions took place during the decorating stages before the parade. Scores from each judging session were then combined to determine the trophy recipients. Results were released to the media immediately prior to the start of the Rose Parade. Banners for each trophy-winning float were carried in the parade by select members of the Tournament of Roses Eagle Scout and Gold Award Girl Scout Troops.

Dole Packaged Foods took home the Sweepstakes Prize for the “most beautiful” entry with its ‘Spirit of Hawaii” float.

Among the other winners were the longest float ever entered in the parade—Lucy Pet’s Grarnly Krankin’ Wave Maker, which featured dogs surfing machine-generated waves on a float decorated with surfers and surboards.

China Airlines was awarded the International Trophy for its float, “Return to the Beauty of Taiwan.”

A full list of the winning floats is available here.

The formal parade was trailed by a noisy but peaceful protest organized by native American groups protesting the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline.

Following the parade, the floral and animated masterpieces will be parked along Sierra Madre and Washington boulevards, beginning at 1 p.m. Monday, and closing for admission at 4 p.m. The post parade venue is also open on Tuesday, January 3, from 9 a.m. to last entry at 4 p.m.. Senior citizens and disabled visitors can come as early as 7 a.m. on Tuesday.

This is a rain or shine event, where Rose Parade “white suiters,” Tournament volunteers, offer information about the float-making process.

Comfortable walking shoes and early arrival are suggested. No pets and bikes will be allowed.