The City of Huntington Beach and its Centennial Celebration will be represented by a float in next year’s 120th Tournament of Roses® Parade.  The City’s Centennial float will join the beautiful pageantry of magnificent floral floats, high-stepping equestrians and spirited marching bands. Our float will capture the essence of living in Huntington Beach and embody “Surf City USA”.   Every year, millions of spectators from around the world celebrate the New Year with the Tournament of Roses® Parade, and we are proud to be a part of such a great tradition.

The 120th Tournament of Roses® Parade themed “Hats Off To Entertainment” will take place Thursday, Jan. 1, 2009 at 8 a.m. (PST) featuring floats, equestrian units and marching bands showcasing the best in entertainment.  The Parade will be broadcast on ABC, NBC, Univision, HGTV, Travel Channel, Discovery HD as well as KWHY and KTLA in the Los Angeles area. The Parade is also seen in more than 150 international territories..

Tournament of Roses® Parade History

The Tournament of Roses® has come a long way since its early days. The first Tournament of Roses® was staged in 1890 by members of Pasadena's Valley Hunt Club, former residents of the East and Midwest eager to showcase their new home's mild winter weather.  During the next few years, the festival expanded to include marching bands and motorized floats. The games on the town lot (which was re-named Tournament Park in 1900) included ostrich races, bronco busting demonstrations and a race between a camel and an elephant (the elephant won). Reviewing stands were built along the Parade route, and Eastern newspapers began to take notice of the event.

In 1895, the Tournament of Roses® Association was formed to take charge of the festival, which had grown too large for the Valley Hunt Club to handle.  The 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. The year-long effort pays off on New Year’s morning, when millions of viewers around the world enjoy the Parade.

Volunteers needed to help decorate

The City needs your help!  The Centennial Celebration float epitomizing everything “Surf City USA” will be built with the help a professional float company, but we still need your help.  Volunteers are needed to aid in the construction of the float.  Click here to learn more about volunteer opportunities.