The annu­al Tour­na­ment of Ros­es parade occurs every year on New Year’s Day in Pasade­na, Calif. and we’ve been to see the floats the day after the parade to see just how the details are done. Here is the sched­ule online so you can go too: Post Parade Show­case of Floats

We went to the parade one year — got tick­ets for the grand­stands right at the start of the parade on Orange Avenue. It was a chilly morn­ing, but we had fun see the floats and the bands up close.

These are some pho­tos we took after the 2009 parade. If you live in the Los Ange­les area, you can vol­un­teer to dec­o­rate the floats. Check out his web­site with more info on how to vol­un­teer to dec­o­rate Rose Parade floats next year. If you just want to watch the parade and don’t live in the area, it will be the major net­works tomor­row morn­ing — includ­ing the Hall­mark chan­nel. If you want to attend the parade next year, I rec­om­mend that you get tick­ets far in advance, oth­er­wise, you’ll have to start lin­ing up with your sleep­ing bag on New Year’s Eve day to claim a spot on Col­orado Boule­vard.  Hap­py New Year! May your 2010 be full of flowers!