100th Grand Floral Parade is Marking Milestones
The Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade is the crown jewel of the annual Rose Festival, anticipated annually by both locals and festival guests. 2012 marks the hundredth time this Portland icon has taken to the streets; over the 105-year length of the festival, the parade was cancelled five times for wars and once for construction of the stadium.
This year's parade highlights include 14 colorful, floral-covered floats, including a self-built entry from Reed College. Reed is marking its own milestone, celebrating 100 years of excellence in education. To reflect this year's rousing Rose Festival theme, Rock 'n' Roses, the parade will feature more music than ever. 18 traditional marching bands will be joined in the lineup by several dancing groups and three live acapella singing groups-the latter representing the best of a new Rose Festival event, the Rose City Sing-Off. 21 equestrian groups, plus marchers, dancers and special guests in vintage automobiles fill out the 90+ entries.
Questions about Duct Tape?
Questions about Portable Toilets?
Check the
Accessibility Page for more info!
The Rose Festival's mascot, the Clown Prince, kicks off the parade. The first segment of the parade presents the entry from title sponsor, Spirit Mountain Casino, a special take on the festival theme with a float depicting the classic Johnny Preston hit, 'Running Bear and Little White Dove.' Also featured is the 2012 Rose Festival Court and the ever-popular One More Time Around Again Marching Band presented by Standard TV and Appliance.
The parade features four special sections:
Marking Milestones, presented by Union Pacific ~ Union Pacific presents a section marking milestones, including its own sesquicentennial, celebrating 150 years of rail service. The UP mini-train from Omaha, Nebraska will carry Living History character Thelma Hollingsworth, the first elected Rose Festival Queen, accompanied by students from St. Agatha School in Portland. 1962 Queen Cherie Viggers Sanville will ride on the Bank of America Packy float, half a century after she was sidelined from the Packy float in the Tournament of Roses Parade. She's followed by members of her court in 60's vintage autos, accompanied by the 1962 Benson Drivers. Marchers from the League of Women's Voters commemorate one hundred year's of Women's Suffrage in Oregon. Other milestones include the 100th anniversary of the Girls Scouts and the Centennial of The Royal Rosarians.
We Are America ~ A celebration of the Rose Festival's flag-waving focus, this section salutes Americana with entries from the Oregon National Guard, the Boy Scouts, the Portland Fire Bureau and the Third Marine Aircraft Wing Band. Let Freedom Ring!
We Are Oregon, presented by University of Oregon ~ UO reminds the world that the 33rd state in the Union is worth celebrating! Led by the Ducks cheerleaders and the Duck himself, this section features some fabulous floats sponsored by top Oregon employers like Fred Meyer and Portland General Electric, as well as great Oregon marching bands and equestrian units.
We Are the World, presented by Boeing ~ This popular section presented by Boeing proves again that Portland is an international city! Beautiful floats from BlueCross BlueShield of OR and the Portland-Kaohsiung Sister City Association anchor a section featuring color, culture, music and dance. New entries include the Orgullo Morelense Cemiac dance group and the Indonesian Community dance group. Even the horses dance in this section of the parade, as proven by Pedro Munoz Sanchez and the Rancho Potrillos riders. All nine of Portland's Sister Cities are featured with the Regence float, highlighting a partnership that celebrates the 'World of Wellness.'
Grand Marshal
The 100th Grand Floral Parade has tapped another Portland icon to serve as grand marshal this year. Packy the elephant turned 50 in April, and while his presence in the parade will be more representative than real, he'll leave his large footprint on the route. In Rose Festival memory this is the first time a grand marshal has been chosen who was unable to appear live. Packy's image will be featured on a float sponsored by Bank of America, and he will be accompanied by 50 ZooGuides, each marking a year of his age. Back in 1962, less than two months after Packy was born, the Rose Festival contemplated making him grand marshal and having him ride in the back of a convertible! Mama Belle and Papa Thonglaw were less than supportive of that untenable arrangement.
Reserved seating is available at the Memorial Coliseum and includes admission to the Queen's Coronation presented by Pacific Power, from 8:30 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. Reserved seats are also available in premium chairs and bleachers along the television area outside the Coliseum. Parade guests inside the Veterans Memorial Coliseum are treated to natural light as the curtains are dropped to allow the view of the outside world to come inside!
After this year's parade, the floats will be displayed adjacent to CityFair on SW Naito Parkway. There will be no charge for viewing the floats, which will be open from 3:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. on Saturday and from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.
See the Lineup of the 2012 Grand Floral Parade:
Note: The following document is in PDF format.
Do you need Adobe Reader? It's free!
2012 Lineup [PDF]
(As of May 10, 2012.)
