Ingredients for a Great Rose Parade

You gotta have at least one really great float. This one was my fave, celebrating Oregon's 150th birthday.

All those flowers and they passed up on the rare opportunity to use the word sesquicentennial.

Another one we liked was the Beauty and the Beast one...especially appropriate as Mom, Stace, Poo, and I all saw the movie together at the theater back in high school.

Happy sesquicentennial, our 33rd state!

You gotta have the Royal Rosarians...the official "ambassadors of goodwill for the City of Portland." I've always wanted to be a Royal Rosarian...but I look terrible in off-white...
You gotta have the Rose Festival Court. But do you gotta stuff 'em all into a carriage? She's the Queen of frickin' Rosaria, for heaven's sake. This isn't Central Park, people. They need their own float.

Way to go, Grant High School! Grant hasn't had a queen since...1966!!

The 1959 Rose Festival queen and her court were also in the parade this year...and time has been good to them... :)

You GOTTA have rodeo queens, and they were out in droves in this parade year. Here's the court from Clark County.

And sister didn't even make me do my "rodeo queen wave" once. And I've been practicing it since we moved to Idaho...in case I'm ever a rodeo queen. I'm getting quite good at it.
You gotta have some great pooper scoopers. I loved these merry-go-round horses on the "End of the Oregon Tail" wagon.

The parade instituted a funny D.B. Cooper promotion affilliated with the festival, and "D.B. sCooper" was another good one.

And there was a scooper done up like a pirate ship with Captain Jack Sparrow and "In Search of the Black Pearl" on the back. Hahahahahaha!

Lastly -- and my favorite part of the Rose Parade -- THE ONE MORE TIME AROUND AGAIN MARCHING BAND!!!! This is believed to be the largest permanent marching band in existence, and is over 500-members strong. Members range from 18 to 85 and at one time marched in a band or drill team or cheering squad before joining. Their signature song is "Louie, Louie," and I love them from start to finish!!