Finally, dawn broke and the parade route started to light up
Once again I had the privilege of attending the Tournament of Roses Parade in beautiful Pasadena, California. This was the 122nd Annual Rose Parade, which is a really spectacular parade that showcases life in Southern California. My employer, Natural Balance Pet Foods had a float in the parade- our third year in a row in fact. Last year we made history with the World's Longest Parade Float. This year we broke another record with the World's Heaviest Float, but more on that later. Some people who attend the Rose Parade camp out along the route as much as 24 hours in advance to secure a prime spot. I was fortunate to have seats in the viewing stands from my company. I was also entertaining/hosting a number of customers with whom my company does business.
Parade organizers request attendees to be in their seats by 6:30 AM, mainly because of the sheer volume of people who turn up. We arrived by 6:00 AM- it was quite cold, 39 degrees Fahrenheit (4 Celsius) so it was rather chilly! We sat in the viewing stands, waiting for sunrise and observing the massive crowds settle into position along the route. I was seated at 90 S Orange Grove, which is the very beginning of the parade, just before it turn onto Colorado Boulevard.
I love the Rose Parade- the beautiful flowers that cover all the floats are a remarkable sight to see. I also love seeing marching bands and hearing their music too. When our float finally came into view, it was truly exciting. You see, working at Natural Balance is not just a regular job. We have FUN. We love animals and find ways to express that through our brand. Our Rose Parade float is a great example of that. Our float features the world famous Tillman and gang- who can all skateboard, snow board, and surf. This year they were skim boarding, while in another part of the float a group of Dock Diving Dogs were jumping into a heated pool and having a blast.
As the float approached, this is the front view!
Our co-founder actor Dick Van Patten once again rode on the float with his son Jimmy Van Patten. Together they cheered on Tillman, Rose, Lyle and Sully as parade viewers watched in amusement. Being a family company, the Van Pattens are involved and love being with the dogs on the float. The dock diving dogs wore body suits provided by Body Glove, who are experts in water sports gear. It was so much fun to see our float and to hear the audience's genuine appreciation and affection for these dogs.
This photo is from the LA Times of our Dock Diving Pool
Be sure to click on this photo below to biggify it!
Side view of our float. In the center is the massive pool, to the right is the skim boarding area!
Rear view of the Natural Balance float
The official certificate!
. As I mentioned earlier, our float was certified by the Guinness World Records as the Heaviest parade float in history. Weighing in at 84,300 pounds, all the water in the heated pool (not to mention the 14 dogs) made for a record-breaking float! It was made by Fiesta Parade Floats, the best float makers in the business!
If you were not able to see the Rose Parade, the clips below had coverage of the Natural Balance float. First ABC:
And here is the clip from KTLA- our float is right around the 4:00 minute mark:
And here are a few other floats I saw that caught my eye for some reason or other:
Look closely on top of the coach- POODLES!
This guy was doing some fancy rope tricks on his horse!
My favorite: The Ronald Reagan Foundation Float!
Kaiser Permanente (health insurance) had a neat float
Namco, the makers of Pac Man video game!
Cunard Cruise Line- this one is for Bee!
Rose Bowl team University of Wisconsin
Rose Bowl team TCU, Texas Christian University
US Bank, I just liked this one for some reason.
Warner Bros Float- you can see Sponge Bob!
Here are some of the goodies from this year's Rose Parade. My company made commemorative bags, pins, hats, mugs and t-shirts for our guests (see photos left). We also made blankets but I gave mine to someone in the stands.
The whole experience was a lot of fun, and I was so proud of my company's float. It felt great to see first hand how well the parade viewers responded with cheers of support and applause when the Natural Balance float glided by. Those dogs sure are a hit. I can't imagine how we will top this next year, but I'm sure we will find a way!
I spent a wonderful New Year's Eve in Pasadena at my company's pre-Rose Parade party. Our co-founder Dick Van Patten was on hand to thank everyone too. He rides on our float tomorrow with his son Jimmy. The party was for 200 people, including those involved in our amazing Natural Balance Rose Parade float, and our customers too. Most of the dogs who will be on the float were at the party, including Tillman, Rose, Sully, Lyle, all of whom will skim board on the float. Several of the Dock Diving dogs were also at the party too. I brought my own two dogs along for the fun. They had a blast, particularly during the concert, which was a Michael Jackson impersonator who was actually very good.
The Michael Jackson impersonator was a lot of fun.
Sully is an amazing skim boarding Bulldog!
Tillman, Rose and Sully at the hotel before the Rose Parade
Sheldon enjoying the concert and watching people dance.
Duncan celebrating on New Year's Eve
We were all excited that the officials from Guinness World Records certified the Natural Balance Rose Parade float as setting the record for the World's Heaviest parade float in history- amazingly at over 84,300 pounds! We love breaking records and having fun! Here is the official certificate presented to us. So all in all, it was an enjoyable New Year's Eve celebration. I hope you can catch the Rose Parade on New Year's Day and see for yourself how much fun we have at Natural Balance. If you watch the parade and see our float, Tweet about it on Twitter. Just include #PETCORose in the tweet so I can follow along and see it! Tweet
Most of you have no doubt heard of the Tournament of Roses Parade, more commonly known as The Rose Parade. For the past three years, my employer, Natural Balance Pet Foods has had a float in this granddaddy of American Parades. Dick Van Patten himself and his son Jimmy Van Patten, both ride on our float waving to the millions of people who watch the parade annually. Our float is known for having the amazingly talented, entertaining and world famous Tillman, the skateboarding bulldog. Along with Tillman are the other bulldogs Rose, Lyle and Sully all of whom will be skim boarding on the float. In addition, this year's float will also feature a group of Dock Diving Dogs who will be jumping into a pool while the Bulldogs do their thing on the lower level. With all the water in the float, we are seeking to break a new record for the World's Heaviest Parade Float. The officials from The Guinness Book of World Records will even be on site to inspect and certify our float!
We're now down to the last few days before this year's "Havin a Splash" parade float makes its debut to the world. Over 100 million people are expected to see the Rose Parade. The dogs have been in rehearsals for weeks and their trainers are confident, yet some level of fear is always lurking. Pictured at left is "Porter", having fun but hard at work learning the routine. I hope you can watch the Rose Parade on January 1st and cheer on our float from home.
I'd really appreciate your vote for us as your favorite Rose Parade Float. You cannot vote until after the parade ends on January 1st. It's easy to vote for "Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods Float" You can either text FLOAT39 to "50649" starting Jan. 1, 2011 at 8:00 a.m. PST or Vote online from the link below: http://www.tournamentofroses.com/the-rose-parade/vote/viewers-choice-award
Oh, by the way, we have an awesome SWEEPSTAKES going on- click here to learn more.
One of the really cool aspects of working at Natural Balance is the fun we have preparing for our awesome float in the Rose Parade. I mentioned yesterday that this year's float will set new records and be entertaining too. Our float has so much public interest, that once again a TV special was filmed and will air this weekend! "The Making of The World's Heaviest Float" shows the behind the scenes details of how we build the float, how the dogs train, and some of the drama behind it all. There are a few celebrity guests and sports legends who make appearances in the TV special. If you love dogs or sports, be sure to watch this show, or set your DVR to record it. Here are the air times on the stations I am aware of so far. If your city isn't listed below, try the WGN Superstation channel, you may be able to pick it up on their national feed, just check local listings.
KSWB/San Diego Sat 12/18 @ 430pm
KTLA/Los Angeles Sun 12/19 @ 5pm & Sun 12/26 @ 4 pm
WPIX/New York Sat 12/18 @ 6:30pm
WGN/Chicago Sat 12/18 @ 5pm
WSFL-TV/Miami Sat 12/18 @ 6:30pm
WDCW/Washington, DC Sun 12/19 @ 5pm
KZJO/Seattle Sun 12/19 @ 5pm
KRCW/Portland Sat 12/18 @ 5pm
WPHL-TV/Philadelphia Sat 12/18 @ 5pm
Tillman practices his skim boarding skills!
I wouldn't steer you wrong, this special is a lot of fun to watch, and its only a half hour so you can probably catch it before or after dinner. Wait til you see Tillman, Rose, Lyle, Sully and their Dock Diving Dog friends train, its a real treat. Hope you have a GREAT weekend! I'll be watching it with Sheldon and Duncan.
Regular readers of this blog know that I work for Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods. In addition to our expertise in pet nutrition, we also know how to have fun! For the past few years, we have had a float in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California on New Year's Day. Our float has been one of the most popular floats during the parade, thanks largely to Tillman and Rose, the world-famous skateboarding bulldogs (here is Rose above).
At last year's parade, the Guiness Book of World Records certified us as having the World's Longest Parade Float. This year, we have built what will be the World's Heaviest Parade Float, featuring Tillman, Rose and their other bulldog friends all skim boarding! They will also be joined by Dock Diving Dogs who will be jumping and swimming on the float at the same time.
In early November we had an open casting call to find some of the best dock diving and skim boarding dogs in America to join us on the float. This photo at left shows all the dogs who made it, plus Tillman, Rose, Lyle and Sully who were on the float last year.
click banner above to enter the sweepstakes and learn more
As part of all this fun, we partnered with PETCO on a special Sweepstakes to win really awesome prizes for the next few weeks. People can enter the sweepstakes online each week from PETCO.COM. The best part is with each entry per week, Natural Balance will donate a meal for a dog or cat to an animal shelter. In addition to this, if you are on Facebook, go to the PETCO page and the Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance fan page and click "Like" for each page. With every new "Like" those pages receive between now and January 1st, Natural Balance will also donate a meal for a dog or cat to a shelter! It's quick and easy to enter. All I ask is that you share this with your friends on facebook or Twitter. Let them know they can enter the sweepstakes, and help a shelter pet too. And mark your calendar to watch the Rose Parade on January 1st. Our float is going to be amazing and FUN!
Do you have a dog who loves water and loves to have fun? Your dog could win an opportunity to perform on the Natural Balance float in the 2011 Rose Parade on New Year's Day in beautiful Pasadena, California! Once again, our amazing bulldog Tillman and his friends will be performing on the float. But this year we're looking for even more dogs to add to the fun. We're holding an OPEN CASTING CALL for ALL DOGS in Southern California on Monday November 8th and our training facility in Pacoima, CA. Just go to: www.naturalbalanceinc.com to learn more and register your dog. And don't forget to look for another amazing, record-breaking parade float from Natural Balance Pet Foods!
Whew, the past few days were filled with activity. I had a lot of fun attending the Rose Parade. It was a a little bit for fun and a little bit for work, which is why I was busy blogging and tweeting live from the parade. But in the end, I had a great time and it was well worth going. If you ever have the opportunity to plan a visit to the Rose Parade, do it at least once. It is a fun experience. We got to the parade route around 6:00 AM so we could get to our seats. Some people had started camping out as early as noon the prior day to secure a prime space on the sidewalk along the parade route. As I was attending for my company I was fortunate to have tickets to the viewing stands, so I as long as I arrived before they close off streets, I didn't have to get there much earlier. I wore layers of clothes to keep warm- it was only in the mid-forties at that pre-dawn hour. If you ever go, be sure to eat before you head over, and bring a thermos of hot cawfee or a bottle of water. Its virtually impossible to find anything once you are on the parade route. Once the parade began it was magic! There was excitement in the crowd, estimated at a million plus people along the entire route. above: Watching dawn break at the parade route in Pasadena above: The Natural Balance Pet Food float- certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the World's Biggest Parade Float in history! It was massive, above: the Natural Balance float approaches, in the front are Dick Van Patten and his son Jimmy Van Patten. above: a close up of the Van Patten's. Jimmy is holding the new bulldog puppy, named "Sully" in honor of Captain Chesley Sullenberger who landed that airplane in the Hudson River last year and saved all those peoples lives. above: Tillman prepares to go down the slope on his snowboard. The top of the ski slope was 16' high. above: Tillman in action, snowboarding down on the float! above: Another great shot of Tillman in action as the crowd cheered on. Snowboarding bulldogs were the hit of the parade! In fact there has been so much interest, Natural Balance actually now has Tillman Dog treats, and a plush dog toy of both Tillman and Rose (see below): above: I bought the toys for my nieces who loved playing with them! Tillman even has a Fan Shop on my company's website. (sorry for sounding commercial there) Here are the rest of my parade photos. Click on them to BIGGIFY for easier viewing above: All American Cowgirl Chicks above: City of Burbank float above: Cal Poli University float above: City of Cerritos float above: I don't know how he did it, but this guy "lassoed" his rope around his horse the entire time. above: the Kaiser Permanente float had lots of over-sized fruits and veggies above: this Scissor Wizard float featured an origami dragon Marching Bands Galore: above: our Mighty Marines Marching band above: the Mexico float above: Rain Bird float featured Jack Hanna above: the Rose Bowl (football) float above: the Shanghai China float featured Jackie Chan I hope you enjoyed my photos. Happy New Year to you.-Rick Rockhill
