A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
Sure, but no other rose bush can boast 39 floats, 16 equestrian teams and 24 marching bands. And a century and a half of history.
Yes, the Rose Parade returns to the streets of Pasadena on Wednesday, Jan. 1.
We all know it’s a mammoth undertaking. The Tournament of Roses Association boasts 935 volunteer members who contribute more than 80,000 hours to stage the event each year, according to parade officials. And, thanks to them, you’re about to get just shy of two hours of floral fabulousness.
Ready for the roses? Here are 10 things to know about the 2025 edition of the biggest petal pusher of them all.
In case you’re searching for the basics, let’s start there: The 136th Rose Parade starts at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 1. The 5.5-mile parade route begins at the corner of Green Street and Orange Grove Boulevard in Pasadena and concludes at Sierra Madre Boulevard and East Villa Street. You can watch on on KTLA-5, KABC-7, KNBC-4, Great American Family, RFD-TV and, en español, Univision. It will also stream on Christmas Plus, Fubo and Pluto.
For lots of other such applicable tips and tricks, check out our 2025 survival guide.
Ever made sandwiches for the band? How about 500 hundred PP&Js, please?
More than 500 local high school band members, all from schools near the 605 freeway, will march and play as the 605 All-Star Band.
Students from Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, John Glenn, Gahr, La Mirada, Mayfair and Norwalk high school bands represent three school districts – ABC, Bellflower, and Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School Districts.
After the pandemic downsized the music programs of many individual high schools, the idea to combine the bands into the 605 All-Star Band was the concept of Mayfair High’s longtime band director, Tom Philips, before he retires in 2025.
The 605 All-Star Band will be one of the largest bands, if not the largest, to ever march in the Rose Parade.
And, no, Philips doesn’t have to carry their water bottles.
Speaking of music, there’s a ton of pop music in this year’s parade — in the start, the middle at at the end.
In the opening spectacular:
Kiesza: Canadian singer and dancer. Pronounced KAY-zuh. Fun facts: She’s double-jointed, was trained as a ballerina, competed as a synchronized swimmer and can walk on her hands.
Aloe Blacc: Singer and rapper from Laguna Hills in Orange County, whose parents were from Panama. Pronounced Ah-LOH Black. Fun facts: Born Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III, he started writing songs at age 9.
In mid-parade performances:
Timothy Wayne: Twenty-one-year-old country music up-and-comer is Tim McGraw’s nephew. Pronounced: Gimme a break. Fun facts: Named for his famous uncle, Wayne has country cred. He worked his family farm during the summer growing. He milked cows, groomed horses, mowed and engaged in a practice called bush-hogging that we researched only briefly, but looks difficult and dirty.
Brian Culbertson: The Grammy nominee delivers a musical nod to “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” Fun fact: Born and raised in Illinois, he now lives in L.A. Unlike Mathew Broderick, who was born in New York and stayed there, though he visited Chicago at least once.
And in the parade finale:
Betty Who: Aussie singer who belts out’ 80s-style synth-pop and ’90s-flavored dance-pop. Pronounced: OK, one more. Betty HOO. Fun fact: Born Jessica Anne Newham, her first hit, “Somebody Loves You,” was released as a free download.
Debbie Gibson: A sensation at age 16 — remember when “Shake Your Love” was the earworm of the moment? — she’s hung in there in the music world and has worked steadily ever since. Pronounced: We’re done with that. Fun fact: With “Foolish Beat” 16-year-old Gibson became the youngest artist to write, produce, and perform a No. 1 Billboard hit.
Debbie Allen: The “Fame” start is an actress, dancer, choreographer, singer, director, producer and lots of other titles. Fun fact: The Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe winner is the younger sister of Phylicia Rashad. She’s bringing students from the Debbie Allen Dance Academy to perform in the finale.
She’s a sports star, sure. And the queen of Wimbledon. And part owner of the Dodgers.
But, perhaps above all, she’s an inspiration.
From her history-making “Battle of the Sexes” victory to her battles for equity for all — in and out of the sports world — Billie Jean King is cited by countless people around the world as a role model. Among them: Tournament of Roses President Ed Morales.
“Her trailblazing work has elevated women in sports and inspired countless best days ever for athletes and fans around the globe,” said Morales.
True that. She’s got cred galore. She’s one of Life Magazine’s “100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century” by LIFE magazine, was the first woman athlete to snare the Presidential Medal of Freedom and was the first individual woman athlete chosen for the Congressional Gold Medal.
She’s already provided a defining moment, months before the parade. Back in October, King made her entrance as grand marshal to the sounds of “Philadelphia Freedom,” the pop hit written in her honor by Elton John.
Bueller. Bueller. Bueller.
Only one float in the 2025 parade encourages parade-watchers to cut class. Titled “Play Hooky in Illinois,” the float from the Illinois office of tourism hearkens back to the classic John Hughes comedy “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
Remember when little Matthew Broderick pretended to be sick so he could spend the day in Chicago? Give that a try, this float urges.
The city’s skyline has been reconstructed with strawflower, statice and buffalo grass, which while lovely, would not meet codes for building a real skyscraper.
There will be more than 3 million flowers used to decorate the 19 floats in Wednesday’s parade.
But wait… Why all the roses in the first place?
Well, for that you’ve got to go way back to 1890, when the parade’s early sponsors were mesmerized by the area’s flower blooms.Members of the Valley Hunt Club first sponsored the parade. They were quite enamored by the abundance of flowers in the area – even in winter.
By then, the “Tournament” was all about chariot races, jousting, polo and even tug-of-war.
But the flowers bloomed amid all of it.
So, it prompted the Hunt Club to start a parade before the competition — a parade of carriages. Those carriages were adorned with all kinds of flowers.
Watch for the Hunt Club, which still appears in the parade each year, at entry no. 10.
Hope that helps you win a bar bet — just don’t try it in Pasadena. Try Ventura County.
Look closely. Presto, one of three decorated beavers on the Cal Poly Pomona float, holds the key to a campus secret.
Student Amelia Atwell of San Diego reports the leads of the student-built float have the honor of hiding a spoon anywhere on the entry.
Last year, the spoon was disguised as a knob on a floral guitar.
“This year, we found out that spoons are the same size and shape as beaver ears and so our spoon is one of Presto’s ears,” Stephanie Yeakle said.
“You can’t see it, but there’s a full spoon here and the handle comes down the face, like a little Bluetooth headset and then we’ve covered it so you’ll never know it’s there.”
Anyone can spy the Easter egg this year, because Presto will be front, center and top, riding on the back of the star of the float, Nessie the Loch Ness Monster.
So for this year, at least, everyone is in on the Bronco secret. You’re welcome.
In the enduring battle between cats and dogs, Rover won a slim victory this year.
In a very informal tally, we counted 13 dogs depicted on floats this year, earned a slim victory over 10 cats (but only if you count lions and tigers, too).
We spied dogs on floats from the City of Alhambra, Cal Poly Universities, the Illinois Office of Tourism and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
We did not count the Fresno State Bulldog Marching Band.
And we counted cats on floats from the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Lions International,
The Pasadena Humane/Hill’s Pet Nutrition float, in the spirit of equal time, includes both, as does the Rotary entry.
There were also scores of other animals, including fish, mice, turtles, frogs, squirrels, myriad varieties of birds.
And, representing the extinct faction were dinosaurs, with 13 floral participants. The City of Burbank’s float features no fewer than 10 of them.
And, for the sake of tradition, the Elks USA float does indeed include an elk.
In more than 20 consecutive years appearing in the Rose Parade, the 83-member United States Marine Corps West Coast Composite Band has built a reputation for never flagging in both their marching and playing, all the way to the end of the 5.5-mile route.
The band is made up of musicians from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Band, the 1st Marine Division Band, and Marine Band San Diego, and while they are certainly musically-inclined, they are all still Marines. Gunnery Sgt. Wesley O. Hayes, drum major for the Marine Band, said “these Marines are held to the standards as all United States Marines which, for us, makes parades an easy walk down the street.
You could say that it is just another day in the office.” But the soldiers do get in a bit of fun when their march comes to a close. Not too far from the end of the parade route is the 210 Freeway Bridge on Sierra Madre Boulevard.
“That is a signal that we don’t have much left (to go),” Hayes said. “However, we always joke with the new Marines before the parade starts that when they see the bridge, we are only halfway to the end!”
Among the wordplay this year:
“Having A-Lava Fun!” from the city of Burbank features a world populated by Jurassic pals in the shadow of a volcano.
“Beeing Together,” from Kiwanis International, stars a couple of lovebird honeybees.
“Seas the Day,” from City of South Pasadena, sets sail with ocean-going critters.
They all rose to the occasion. See what we did there?
Staff writers Anissa Rivera, Ryan Carter and Christina Merino contributed to this report.
