Rain won't stop proceedings as the Tournament of Roses forges ahead with the New Year's Day tradition Thursday — its first wet parade in two decades.
The annual presentation of flora is celebrating its 137th year with a twist: the first rainy day since the 2006 parade. Forecasts for Pasadena, California, for Thursday morning show periods of rain, though it may to clear up by the time of the Rose Bowl game in the afternoon.
The wet weather could affect the attendance at the Rose Parade, which normally draws hundreds of thousands of people along the 5.5-mile route. It has rained on the parade only 10 times in its long history, Pasadena spokesperson Lisa Derderian told NBC Los Angeles.
"It was coming down pretty good. I was sitting out there myself," Derderian said of the 2006 parade. "And you know, these die-hard fans are there. They want to see the parade. They're there. Often, it's a tradition."
The event draws important foot traffic for business owners, who told NBC Los Angeles that customers on the day of the parade help boost sales for the entire first week of the year.
This year's parade theme is "The Magic in Teamwork." "The theme celebrates the sense of accomplishment in knowing that by working together, we can collectively achieve outcomes so much richer than we can ever experience as individuals," according to the parade website.
Former Los Angeles Lakers star Earvin "Magic" Johnson will serve as the parade's grand marshal.
What is the Tournament of Roses?
The Tournament of Roses, commonly known as the Rose Parade, began in 1890 as an event put together by an elite social organization for wealthy Pasadena families called the Valley Hunt Club. It's meant to highlight the area's mild weather compared with the cold and gray East Coast winters.
Charles Holder, who had moved to Pasadena from Massachusetts, remarked at a club meeting, “In New York, people are buried in snow."
"Here our flowers are blooming and our oranges are about to bear," he said, according to the parade's website. "Let’s hold a festival to tell the world about our paradise."
Today, the event draws millions of eyeballs between its in-person attendance and those who watch it on television. There are beautiful floats adorned with bright floral arrangements, as well as marching bands and celebrity performances.
Who will perform?
Singers Kiesza and Aloe Blacc will kick off the festivities with what organizers promise will be a "high-energy spectacle." There will be a synchronized light show featuring pyrotechnics and "extreme stunts," according to the show's website.
Spectators can expect performances throughout the parade from artists Timothy Wayne, Chapel Hart and Brandon Bennett.
Musician Betty Who will close out the show with Debbie Gibson in a duet designed to evoke 1980s nostalgia with Who's cover of Donna Lewis' "I Love You Always Forever" and Gibson's own "Electric Youth." They'll be joined by students from the Debbie Allen Dance Academy.
Where and when to watch
The parade will begin at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT on New Year’s Day.
Viewers who want to watch at home can tune into the national ABC, NBC, CNN and Fox network channels. The parade will also host its own livestream, in addition to streaming on platforms such as Pluto TV, FanDuel Sports Network and Fubo Sports Network.
The Rose Bowl will take place at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT and will feature the Indiana University Hoosiers taking on the University of Alabama Crimson Tide. College football fans can watch that on ESPN.
