There are so many traditions associated with the arrival of the New Year. People gather in New York’s Times Square to watch the ball drop on New Year’s Eve, couples kiss each other at the stroke of midnight, and people devour pork and sauerkraut on New Year’s Day.
But when we welcome 2021 on January 1, one beloved tradition will not be part of the celebrations…the Rose Parade.
Each year, the Rose Parade is held in Pasadena, California to celebrate the arrival of the New Year. People spend months crafting the elaborate floats that travel down the parade route, since the floats are made out of natural materials such as flowers, leaves, and rice.
The Rose Parade also features performances from marching bands that fly in from all over the country to participate in the event.
In addition to the millions of people who tune in to watch the parade on television, thousands more gather to see the parade in person.
With festivals, conventions, and other high attendance events being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it didn’t seem likely the Rose Parade would be able to take place in 2021. Then, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association finally confirmed what people long suspected.
There will be no Rose Parade in 2021.
“With reluctance and tremendous disappointment, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association announces that, in accordance with [California] Governor Newsom’s Phase IV re-opening schedule, and after thoughtful consideration of the restrictions and guidelines in place as a result of COVID-19, we are unable to host the 2021 Rose Parade,” the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association said in a press release.
The Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association’s President, Bob Miller, said:
“The health and well-being of our parade participants and guests, as well as that of our volunteer members, professional staff and partners, is our number one priority. Obviously this is not what any of us wanted, and we held off on announcing until we were absolutely sure that safety restrictions would prevent us from continuing with planning for 132nd Rose Parade.“
With tremendous disappointment, we are unable to host the 2021 #RoseParade. We will miss the joy of coming together for the Rose Parade, but will not miss this opportunity to celebrate a New Year & healthy new beginnings on January 1. READ MORE: https://t.co/ZRxXhxNWKF pic.twitter.com/YbobU3PmmZ
— Rose Parade (@RoseParade) July 15, 2020
The Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association’s Executive Director/CEO David Eads added that even if it was believed to be safe for the parade to continue, a lot of work and manpower would be required to prepare the floats in time for the parade. Work on the floats usually starts in February:
“…the construction of our floats takes many months and typically requires thousands of volunteers to gather in ways that aren’t in compliance with safety recommendations and won’t be safe in the coming months,” Eads said.
The Rose Parade has previously been canceled three times, and all of those times were during WWII.
Even though the Rose Parade will not take place in 2021, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association is looking into other ways it can help people celebrate the New Year:
“We may not be able to host our traditional five-mile march down Colorado Boulevard, but we are exploring new and safe ways we can collectively share in the celebration, and we look forward to announcing further details about our exciting new plans in the coming weeks,” Eads said.
We’re sorry to hear the Rose Parade won’t be taking place in 2021, but look forward to seeing what the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association comes up with as its replacement.