Every year the rose Parade kicks off in Pasadena on New Years Day. This year's, 124th annual Rose Parade had a themed Dr. Seuss float called, "Follow Your Dream," for the theme "Oh,The Places You'll Go!"
The LA Times reported that the float has 20,000 blossoms and 5,000 roses and heralded in a crowd of nearly 1 million.
"The Rose Parade's elaborate floats now feature high-tech computerized animation and exotic natural materials from around the world. Although a few floats are still built exclusively by volunteers from their sponsoring communities, most are built by professional float building companies and take nearly a year to construct," reported tournamentofroses.com. "The year-long effort pays off on New Year's morning, when millions of viewers around the world enjoy the Rose Parade.
The Associated Press reported that there was also a float by the Defense Department that featured a couple getting married on the float. It was a $247,000 military float that is a replica of the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington.
Fans from around the country are visiting for the parade and the rose bowl. Azalea Tauer, 36, from Temple City said to The LA Times "I woke up at 6:30 this morning. It just feels like one long day to me." Her family spent the night outside so they could secure a highly coveted spot to watch the parade.
The parade also included Costa Rican folk dancers and Salvadoran band members. "I'm really excited, though," said 15-year-old Julissa Blanco from the Alma Tica dancing troupe, speaking of her nervousness to the LA Times.
"So far it's been a marvelous experience to be a part of the world's largest parade," said Drummer David Vega, 20 from El Salvador to the LA Times.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
