Kaiser Permanente (#14)
Float Theme: The Magic of Good Health In its first Rose Parade float, Kaiser Permanente depicts Mother Rabbit teaching her children the importance of healthy living by example. The family gardens, eats and plays together in this whimsical and quaint family scene of Peter Rabbit. Set within an English country garden of fanciful butterflies and oversized sculptured flowers, Mother Rabbit has just returned with a heaping basketful of freshly picked, nutritional vegetables from the garden that Peter Rabbit carefully tends. Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail are eager to help out, or just play about, amid bowls and baskets overflowing smart and delicious food choices.
The natural colors and fuzzy textures used as bunny fur are recreated from uva and pampas grass with accents of cottonseed, buffalo grass, Indian broom and red dock seed. The bunnies are dressed in an array of colors including red and hot pink carnations, blue sinuata statice, chartreuse green Kermit pom poms, purple dendrobium orchids, orange marigold petals and yellow chrysanthemums. The lavish English storybook garden showcases 50,000 roses.
New Buffalo Soldiers (#15)
The New Buffalo Soldiers is a nonprofit living history and historical reenactment group recreating the life of Company H, Tenth Regiment of the United States Cavalry from post Civil War era through WW1. Each group member owns and maintains his own mount and equipment. Each person wears uniforms that are vintage or authentic reproductions. The group shares the history of the Buffalo Soldiers through lectures, reenactment activities and demonstrations at schools, libraries, museums and entertainment venues. The group participated in the 2002 Winter Olympics Ceremony.
The original Buffalo Soldiers, freed men and former slaves, were an important part of the Westward movement. They endured hardship and discrimination as they surveyed the land for maps of the West, built key forts and roads, and guarded rail, stage and telegraph lines that laid the way for the Great Western Expansion.
Marshal: C.F. Brown
Automobile Club of Southern California (#16)
Float Theme: Vacation Paradise
A pair of giant macaws soar to more than 30 feet above the Rose Parade route as a colorful part of a "Vacation Paradise" presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California. Real water gushes from the top of the float and cascades through a system of bamboo chutes to become a whitewater river, propelling delighted vacationers seaward in a native outrigger. Lighting their path and illuminating the lush tropical setting are two flaming tiki torches.
The macaws are created with green and red antherium, statice and white carnations. The bamboo chutes are created with actual split bamboo. The base of the float features thousands of orchids, including cattleya, cymbidium, dendrobium, phaleonopsis and heliconia. The Auto Club float is decorated entirely by AAA members and employees.
Band: Allen Eagle Escadrille (#17)
Location: Allen, Texas
The "Allen Eagle Escadrille" was formed in the mid 1970s when Allen, Tex., was a small, rural community. At that time, the Allen High School Band and the drill team, the Tallenettes, were separate groups that performed together during halftime shows, in parades and community events. In a departure from the typical marching band, the two groups combined to create one performing entity and adopted the name Escadrille. Thus began a new tradition.
Allen is now a fast-paced suburb of North Dallas. Since 2002, the Escadrille has grown from 275 to more than 600 members. In 2003, the Escadrille was awarded the Sudler Shield; an international award recognizing youth and high school marching bands of world-class excellence that is administered by the John Philip Sousa Foundation. The Escadrille has also marched in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin, Ireland.
NAMM, the International Music Products Association (#18)
Float Theme: Making Music Is Magical
The NAMM float is one of the entertainment floats featured in this year's parade with Grammy award-winning singer Toni Braxton performing twice on the parade route. "Making Music is Magical" reflects NAMM's core mission to create more music makers throughout the world and to communicate the joys and benefits of active participation in music.
Toni Braxton is joined by four friends from Disney's Little Einsteins and their spaceship, Rocket, to make magical music. Annie (blonde hair), Leo (glasses), June (dark hair) and Quincy (baseball cap) are raised at the center of the float on a rotating platform. Their spaceship, Rocket, flies up and down at the back of the float. Rotating wheels of musical notes are placed to give the illusion of one continuous moving line of music, wrapping the kids in music. The float is adorned with colorful musical instruments and large graphic flowers. An on-board drum circle leads the float and encourages parade route audiences to join along by clapping to music that emanates from the float.
First Cavalry Division, U.S. Army Fort Hood (#19)
The First Cavalry Division, Horse Cavalry Detachment based at Fort Hood, Tex., is the last horse-mounted cavalry unit in the U.S. Army. The mission of the detachment is threefold: to represent the 1st Cavalry Division and the Army in public appearances throughout the country, to assist in recruiting by demonstrating the professionalism of today's soldier and to maintain the proud traditions forged by the cavalry in our country's colorful history.
The detachment demonstrates the precision and skills of the cavalryman of 1880, both in horsemanship and weapons usage. The mounted demonstration includes drill maneuvers at the walk, trot and gallop. The weapons portion of the show demonstrates the mounted use of the Cavalry Saber, .45 caliber Revolver and the Springfield Carbine. The Horse Cavalry Detachment was formed in 1972 and has performed at numerous fairs, parades and rodeos throughout Texas. This is their sixth Rose Parade appearance.
Marshal: Captain Randall Davis
